• Question: on a tree, how is the bark formed? I mean how and why is wood formed from the stem?

    Asked by bouncingball8 to Charlie, Eoin, Jemma, Julian, Steve on 14 Mar 2011.
    • Photo: Eoin Lettice

      Eoin Lettice answered on 11 Mar 2011:

      Good question!
      The production of wood in trees is an example of secondary growth – so instead of the primary (up and down) growth that is more obvious, it is a thickening of the plant stem.

      This secondary growth is growth of the vascular system of the tree – the ‘tubes’ for transporting food and water up and down the (often very large) trunks.

      close to the surface, this growth forms cells which will eventually form the hard outer bark. Inside this, the stem or wood forms from different types of cells.

      This production of bark and wood really only happens towards the surface of the trunk. Depending on how much wood is produced each year, the tree will produce different sized rings which can be seen when tree is chopped down.

      Hope this simplifies it a bit!

      Eoin

    • Photo: Charlie Ryan

      Charlie Ryan answered on 11 Mar 2011:

      i’m sorry i’m no biologist, and so i think my answer to this question would be a little wooden!!

    • Photo: Stephen Moss

      Stephen Moss answered on 13 Mar 2011:

      So, this is a tough question for a scientist like me who works on blindness? I don’t want to give you wrong information, so I’m just going to say, I don’t really know. But hopefully there are lots of other scientists here who can give you some insight!

    • Photo: Julian Rayner

      Julian Rayner answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      Sorry, I don’t know the answer to this, I am not a plant biologist. I would probably go to the same place as you to find the answer – Wikipedia.

Comments