meristem

[ mer-uh-stem ]

noun

, Botany.

1. embryonic tissue in plants; undifferentiated, growing, actively dividing cells.

meristem

/ ˌmɛrɪstɪˈmætɪk; ˈmɛrɪˌstɛm /

noun

1. a plant tissue responsible for growth, whose cells divide and differentiate to form the tissues and organs of the plant. Meristems occur within the stem (see cambium ) and leaves and at the tips of stems and roots

meristem

/ mĕr′ĭ-stĕm′ /

1. Plant tissue whose cells actively divide to form new tissues that cause the plant to grow. The originally undifferentiated cells of the meristem can produce specialized cells to form the tissues of roots, leaves, and other plant parts. The meristem includes the growing tips of roots and stems (the apical meristems) and the tissue layer known as cambium.

meristem

1. The region on a plant where division of cells (and hence growth) occurs. Usually, meristems are found in the shoots and root tips, and places where branches meet the stem. In trees, growth occurs in the cambium — the layer just beneath the bark.

Derived Forms

• meristematic, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of meristem¹

1870–75; < Greek merist ( ós ) divided, distributed (equivalent to *merid-, stem of merízein to divide into parts (derivative of méris part, share) + -tos verbal adjective suffix) + -em < Greek -ēma termination of nouns denoting result of action; -eme

Word History and Origins

Origin of meristem¹

C19: from Greek meristos divided, from merizein to divide, from meris portion

Example Sentences

BBM encodes a transcription factor that regulates embryonic development, while WUS encodes a transcription factor that maintains stem cell identity in the shoot apical meristem region.

From Science Daily

Emma Erler, landscape and greenhouse field specialist at the University of New Hampshire Extension, says every plant has a meristem, a type of tissue that contains cells that can develop into different plant parts.

From Washington Post

Just in front of it lies the polychate worm version of the apical meristem in plants: a place where stem cells continuously generate new body parts called the posterior growth zone.

From Scientific American

But Welwitschia’s original growing tip dies, and leaves instead pour out of a vulnerable area of the plant’s anatomy called the basal meristem, which supplies fresh cells to the growing plant, Dr. Wan said.

From New York Times

The only problem was that the researchers did not know what gene might control the meristem’s pace of shoot production.

From New York Times