Bark is the outermost layers of
stems and
roots of
woody plants. Plants with bark include
trees, woody
vines, and
shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the
vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the
wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner bark, which in older
stems is living tissue, includes the innermost area of the
periderm. The outer bark in older stems includes the dead tissue on the surface of the stems, along with parts of the innermost periderm and all the tissues on the outer side of the periderm. The outer bark on trees which lies external to the last formed periderm is also called the
rhytidome.