Bark is the outer layer of the stems and roots of woody plants, including trees, vines, and shrubs. It encompasses all tissues outside the vascular cambium and consists of two main parts: inner bark and outer bark.
The inner bark is living tissue in older stems and includes the innermost layer of the periderm. The outer bark, found on older stems, comprises dead tissue on the surface, parts of the outermost periderm, and all tissues outside the periderm. This outer layer is also referred to as the rhytidome.
