Periderm

In woody plants, when the cork cambium begins to produce new tissues to increase the girth of the stem or root the epidermis is sloughed off and replaced by a periderm. The periderm is made of semi-rectangular and boxlike cork cells. This will be the outermost layer of bark. These cells are dead at maturity. However, before the cells die, the protoplasm secretes a fatty substance called suberin into the cell walls. Suberin makes the cork cells waterproof and aids in protecting tissues beneath the bark. There are parts of the cork cambium that produce pockets of loosely packed cork cells. These cork cells do not have suberin embedded in their cell walls. These loose areas are extended through the surface of the periderm and are called lenticels. Lenticels function in gas exchange between the air and the stem interior. At the bottom of the deep fissures in tree bark are the lenticels.