Meristematic tissue is a type of tissue found in plants. It consists of undifferentiated cells capable of cell division, which can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants. These cells continue to divide until a time when they get differentiated and then lose the ability to divide. Differentiated plant cells generally cannot divide or produce cells of a different type. Meristematic cells are undifferentiated or incompletely differentiated, and they are totipotent and capable of continued cell division. Division of meristematic cells provides new cells for expansion and differentiation of tissues and the initiation of new organs, providing the basic structure of the plant body. The cells are small, with small vacuoles or none, and protoplasm filling the cell completely. The plastids (chloroplasts or chromoplasts) are undifferentiated but are present in rudimentary form (proplastids) . Meristematic cells are packed closely.
Meristematic tissue is responsible for the growth and development of plants. The cells of the meristematic tissue divide actively to form specialized structures such as buds of leaves and flowers, tips of roots and shoots, etc. . These cells help to increase the length and girth of the plant. The adult body of vascular plants is the result of meristematic activity. Plant meristems are centers of mitotic cell division and are composed of a group of undifferentiated self-renewing stem cells from which most plant structures arise. Meristematic cells are also responsible for keeping the plant growing. The Shoot Apical Meristem (SAM) gives rise to organs like the leaves and flowers, while the Root Apical Meristem (RAM) provides the meristematic cells for the future root growth. The cells of the shoot and root apical meristems divide rapidly and are considered to be indeterminate, which means that they do not possess any defined end fate.
