Nonparallelism of cambium cells in neighboring rows

Abstract

The periclinal walls of cambial cells in neighboring lineages (rows) may not be parallel when viewed in their radial aspect. This lack of longitudinal parallelism may be so extensive that in active cambium pairs of cells from neighboring rows may be in contact only along restricted segments. This means that the initial cells, rather than farming a continuous layer, may be arranged in an irregular network pattern from which some parts project inward or outward from the layer of their mutual cantacts. The longitudinal nonparallelism of cambial cells becomes more pronounced during symplasitic radial growth. Unequal periclinal divisions counteract this, and in initial cells abscission of the parts projecting from the layer of mutual contact occurs. When the cambium passes from a period of activity to a Period of rest a continuous layer of initials is reestabhshed. This involves elongation by intrusive growth of those cells previously shortened as the result of irregular periclinal divisions. The division walls in cambial cells may be warped, that is they change their orientation along the longitudinal direction perhaps even similar to an aircraft propeller. A division wall may thus be periclinal in one part of the cell and anticlinal in another.