Question

Removal of the ring of tissue outside the vascular cambium from the tree trunk kills it because.

• A. water cannot move up
• B. roots become starved
• C. shoot becomes starved
• D. annual rings are not produced.

Answer 1

The correct option is B roots become starved

The vascular cambium is a plant tissue located between the xylem and the phloem in the stems and roots of vascular plants. Because phloem tubes are located outside the xylem in most plants, a tree or other plant can be killed by stripping away the bark in a ring on the trunk or stem. With the phloem destroyed, nutrients cannot reach the roots, and the tree/plant will die. The shoot is not starved because it is photosynthesizing and has enough food to sustain itself.