Apical meristem
Addition of new cells in a root occurs at the apical meristem. Subsequent enlargement of these cells causes the organ to grow and elongate. The root cap protects the fragile apical meristem as the root tip is pushed through the soil by cell elongation.
Source
Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:
"OpenStax College, Early Plant Life. November 17, 2013."
http://cnx.org/content/m44635/latest/Figure_25_01_03.jpg
OpenStax CNX
CC BY 3.0.
