Arising from the phellogen in both the perennial stems and the large storage roots of C. foetidissima, C. digitata, C. palmata and Apodanthera undu- lata is a comparatively thick periderm consisting of a partially suberized phellem and an unsuberized phelloderm. In general the periderm on the roots is consider- ably thicker than that on the perennial stems and the phellem is thicker than the phelloderm on both root and stem. It is suggested that the periderm aids in the re- tention of water, making it possible for plants with this type of root system to sur- vive long periods of drought. Undoubtedly characteristics other than periderm also play an important role in the drought resistance of plants.
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Dittmer et al. (1963) studied this question.
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