Cork cambium (pl.:cambia orcambiums) is atissue found in many vascular plants as a part of theepidermis. It is one of the many layers ofbark, between the cork and primaryphloem. The cork cambium is a lateralmeristem and is responsible for secondary growth that replaces theepidermis inroots andstems. It is found in woody and many herbaceousdicots,gymnosperms and somemonocots (monocots usually lack secondary growth). It is one of the plant's meristems – the series of tissues consisting of embryonic disk (incompletely differentiated) cells from which the plant grows. The function of cork cambium is to produce the cork, a tough protective material.[1][2]
Synonyms for cork cambium arebark cambium,peri-cambium andphellogen. Phellogen is defined as the meristematic cell layer responsible for the development of the periderm. Cells that grow inwards from there are termedphelloderm, and cells that develop outwards are termedphellem or cork (note similarity withvascular cambium). Theperiderm thus consists of three different layers:[1][2]
Commercialcork is derived from the bark of thecork oak(Quercus suber). Cork has many uses including wine bottle stoppers, bulletin boards, coasters, hot pads to protect tables from hot pans, insulation, sealing for lids, flooring, gaskets for engines, fishing bobbers, handles for fishing rods and tennis rackets, etc. It is also a high strength-to-weight/cost ablative material for aerodynamic prototypes in wind tunnels, as well as satellite launch vehicle payload fairings, reentry surfaces, and compression joints in thrust-vectored solid rocket motor nozzles.[citation needed]
Many types of bark are used asmulch.
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