The pericycle is a cylinder of parenchyma

Parenchyma

Parenchyma is a term used to describe a bulk of a substance. It is used in different ways in animals and in plants.The term is New Latin, f. Greek παρέγχυμα - parenkhuma, "visceral flesh", f. παρεγχεῖν - parenkhein, "to pour in" f. para-, "beside" + en-, "in" + khein, "to pour"...

 cells that lies just inside the endodermis

Endodermis

The endodermis is the central, innermost layer of cortex in some land plants. It is made of compact living cells surrounded by an outer ring of endodermal cells that are impregnated with hydrophobic substances to restrict apoplastic flow of water to the inside...

 and is the outer most part of the stele

Stele (biology)

In a vascular plant, the stele is the central part of the root or stem containing the tissues derived from the procambium. These include vascular tissue, in some cases ground tissue and a pericycle, which, if present, defines the outermost boundary of the stele...

 of plants.

Although it is composed of non-vascular parenchyma cells, it is still considered part of the vascular cylinder because it arises from the procambium as do the vascular tissues it surrounds.

In dicots, it also has the capacity to produce lateral roots

Lateral roots

Lateral roots extend horizontally from the primary root and serve to anchor the plant securely into the soil. This branching of roots also contributes to water uptake, and facilitates the extraction of nutrients required for the growth and development of the plant.Many different factors are...

. Branch roots arise from this primary meristem

Meristem

A meristem is the tissue in most plants consisting of undifferentiated cells , found in zones of the plant where growth can take place....

 tissue. In plants undergoing secondary growth

Secondary growth

In many vascular plants, secondary growth is the result of the activity of the two lateral meristems, the cork cambium and vascular cambium. Arising from lateral meristems, secondary growth increases the girth of the plant root or stem, rather than its length. As long as the lateral meristems...

, the pericycle contributes to the vascular cambium

Vascular cambium

The vascular cambium is a part of the morphology of plants. It consists of cells that are partly specialized, for the tissues that transport water solutions, but have not reached any of the final forms that occur in their branch of the specialization graph...

 often diverging into a cork cambium

Cork cambium

Cork cambium is a tissue found in many vascular plants as part of the periderm. The cork cambium is a lateral meristem and is responsible for secondary growth that replaces the epidermis in roots and stems...

.

Structure

A plant tissue characteristic of the roots, located between the endodermis and phloem.

It may be of single layer or it may be multilayered.

Function

In dicot roots, the vascular cambium is completely secondary in origin, and it originates from a portion of pericycle tissue.

Since it has the capacity to produce lateral roots, the pericycle also, therefore, regulates the formation of lateral roots.

It has been known to often be confused with other parts of the plant. However, its unique ring structure allows it to be more easily identified

Past efforts to isolate such tissue have been successful. monocot roots rarely branch, but can, and this branch will originate from the pericycle