Root Tip: Zones of Growth

Also called

root tip · root cap · meristem · apical meristem · meristematic tissue · region of cell division · region of elongation · region of maturation · zone of elongation · root hairs · onion root tip · growth of a root · differentiation · primary growth · longitudinal section of root · जड़ का शीर्ष · मूल गोप · विभज्योतक ऊतक

Topics

• The tip of a root is protected by a root cap, a thimble of cells that wears away as the root pushes through soil.
• Just behind the cap is the meristematic zone: small cells with dense cytoplasm and large nuclei that keep dividing.
• Meristematic cells have thin walls and almost no vacuoles; this region of cell division makes all the new cells.
• Above it, in the zone of elongation, the new cells stop dividing and grow much longer, pushing the tip deeper.
• In the zone of maturation the cells take permanent shapes and jobs; this change is called differentiation.
• Root hairs are outgrowths of epidermal cells in the mature zone; they absorb water and minerals from the soil.
• Xylem differentiates in the centre of the mature zone and carries the absorbed water up to the stem.
• The apical meristem at the root tip makes the root grow longer; this is primary growth.
• The meristem also renews the root cap from the inside as the cap’s outer cells are rubbed off by the soil.

About this model

A GLB file of about 433 KB, shown in Lably's 3D viewer and, on a phone, placed in your room with AR. Credit: Model, science and animation: Lably (built procedurally with three.js; no downloaded meshes). | CC BY 4.0. Original geometry and animation made for Lably.

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