How are apical meristems protected in shoots?
1 Answer
Jul 14, 2015
Apical meristem in shoots is protected by young overlapping leaf primordia.
Explanation:
Apical meristems in shoots are not naked but present in apical buds.
An apical bud consists of meistematic tissue covered over by young leaf primordia.
With the growth of the shoot, leaf primordia develop into young leaves.
The cells in apical meristem continue dividing mitotically, produciing new cells.
During differentiation the cells at the flanks get differentiated into leaf primordia and the other cells get differentiated into different tissues of the shoot.
Thus the apical meristem is always surrounded by young lead primordia which provide protection to it.