Which plant tissue is defined as the tissue that divides and reproduces?

• A. Pholem
• B. Wholred
• C. Ferrous sulfate
• D. Meristems

Answer: (D)

Growth in plants happens where cells keep dividing to form new tissues, and that tissue is called meristem. Meristems are groups of undifferentiated cells with the ability to divide mitotically, so they continually produce new cells that can later specialize into all the different tissues the plant needs. This ongoing division is what drives lengthening of shoots and roots and, in woody plants, helps with widening as well. Because their defining function is to divide and give rise to new cells and tissues, meristems are the tissue described as the one that divides and reproduces. In contrast, phloem is a mature transport tissue made of specialized cells for moving sugars, not primarily a site of ongoing cell division for growth. The other term isn’t a plant tissue, and ferrous sulfate is a chemical, not a tissue.