bark

A bark is the tertiary dermal tissue at the stem of woody plants. It can be found in most trees and some larger shrubs. It is developing when the periderm (secondary dermal tissue) rips due to secondary growth. Depending on structure, the following bark types may be distinguished: bark with longitudinal fissures (e. g. in Robinia – Locust), bark with transverse fissures (e. g. in Prunus avium – Wild Cherry), reticulate bark (e. g. in Quercus – Oak Tree) and scaly bark (e. g. in Platanus x hispanica – London Plane). The bark types merge into each other and may also change with the age of an individual. Therefore, bark type is only conditionally suitable as identification character.


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