Phelloderm Cells (Living Inner Bark)

Living cells in the bark

Bark has layers. On the outside is cork, made of dead cells. Under the cork is a thin layer of dividing cells called the cork cambium.

The cork cambium makes a few new cells toward the inside, too. Those are phelloderm cells. Usually there are only a few layers of them.

Phelloderm cells are alive. They have thin walls, a nucleus, and soft insides, a lot like the simple storage cells in a potato.

Storing food under the cork

Phelloderm cells are part of the tree's protective bark coat, called the periderm. Their jobs:

• They can store food, like grains of starch.
• In some plants, they have green chloroplasts and can make a little food from sunlight that shines through thin bark.

Phelloderm quiz