10 Key Difference between Cork Cambium and Vascular Cambium with Table

What is the difference between cork cambium and vascular cambium?

Dicot plants have both cork and vascular cambium. These tissues are responsible for secondary growth in woody plants.

The core difference between cork cambium and vascular cambium is that cork cambium produces both cork and secondary cortex while vascular cambium produces secondary xylem and secondary phloem.

Difference between Cork Cambium and Vascular Cambium

What Is a Cork Cambium?

Cork cambium is a layer beneath the epidermis and it is formed from the secondary meristem cells. The cambium comprises of parenchyma and collenchyma cells.

Characteristics of Cork Cambium

Actively dividing cells
Produce fatty substances
Has pores for exchange of gases
Cork cells tend to be dead cells

What Is a Vascular Cambium?

Vascular cambium is responsible for giving rise to secondary phloem and secondary xylem. It has a cylindrical secondary lateral meristem.

Characteristics of Vascular Cambium

Secondary xylem occurs inside the cambium ring and secondary phloem on the outside
Activities of the cambium are influenced by season
Produce an annual ring in the stem

Comparison Chart: Cork Cambium vs Vascular Cambium

Basic Terms	Cork Cambium	Vascular Cambium
Meaning	It is the lateral ring of the meristematic tissue in woody plants	It is the cylindrical layer of meristematic tissue found between the primary xylem and primary phloem.
Development	Formed from the secondary lateral meristem	Formed from the apical meristem.
Location	Outside the vascular tissue	Occur between the primary xylem and primary phloem.
Produce	Give rise to the secondary cortex and bark	Give rise to secondary xylem and secondary phloem.
Other Structures	Produce lenticels	Produce medullary ray
Main role	Offer protection against physical damage and prevents water loss.	Produce vascular tissue to help the conduction inside the plant and provides structural support to the plant.

Core Difference between Cork Cambium and Vascular Cambium In Point Form

Cork cambium is also known as phellogen while vascular cambium as cambium
Cork cambium offers protection against mechanical damage and prevents water loss while vascular cambium produce vascular tissue for structural support and water conduction in the plant
Cork cambium produces lenticels while vascular cambium produces a medullary ray
The cork cambium gives rise to the secondary cortex and bark while vascular cambium gives rise to secondary xylem and phloem
Cork cambium occur on the outside the vascular tissue while vascular cambium occur between secondary xylem and phloem
Cork cambium is derived from the secondary lateral meristem while vascular cambium is derived from apex meristem
Cork cambium inner derivative is the secondary xylem while that of vascular cambium is the phelloderm
The peripheral derivative of vascular cambium is phellem while that of cork cambium is the secondary phloem
Cork cambium cells are arranged as stratified manner while those of vascular cambium is in a non-stratified or stratified manner.
The shape of cork cambium is rectangular or polygonal while that of vascular cambium is spindle-shaped or cuboidal.

Similarities between Cork Cambium and Vascular Cambium

Both promote secondary growth in stems and roots
Both originated from meristematic tissues
Both have cylindrical rings
Both have actively dividing cells
Both provide protection and structural support to the plant
Both are present in dicot plants

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Comparison Video

Summary

The main difference between vascular cambium and cork cambium is that vascular cambium is a cylindrical layer of meristematic tissues that give rise to secondary xylem and phloem while cork cambium is the lateral layer of meristematic tissues in woody plants.