What is an intercalary meristem? Which plants have them?

Question

What is an intercalary meristem? Which plants have them?

Answer 1

The intercalary meristems occur only in monocot (particularly grass) stems at the base of nodes and leaf blades. Intercalary meristems are capable of cell division and allow for rapid growth and regrowth of many monocots. Intercalary meristems at the nodes of bamboo allow for rapid stem elongation, while those at the base of most grass leaf blades allow damaged leaves to rapidly regrow. This leaf regrowth in grasses evolved in response to damage by grazing herbivores, but is more familiar to us in response to lawnmowers.