Écorce

Écorce is the French term for the bark or outer covering of woody plants, especially trees. In botany it denotes all tissues outside the vascular cambium, including the protective outer layer and, in many descriptions, the inner phloem that forms part of the bark.

Anatomically, bark is often described as comprising the periderm and inner bark. The periderm consists of the cork (phellem), the cork cambium (phellogen), and the phelloderm. Inside the periderm lies the inner bark, which includes phloem and associated tissues. Together, these tissues protect the tree, insulate it, and participate in defense and transport.

Bark serves several functions. It protects the underlying tissues from physical damage, dehydration, temperature fluctuations, and pathogens. It helps regulate gas exchange and can contain chemical compounds that deter herbivores or pathogens. As a tree grows, the cork layer is produced outward, causing the outer bark to shed or crack in places. Removing or girdling bark can disrupt the transport of nutrients and ultimately harm or kill the tree.

Humans utilize Écorce in various ways. Some barks yield commercially important products, such as cork from Quercus suber and various medicinal or aromatic barks (for example cinnamon bark from Cinnamomum verum and bark used for tannins and dyes). Bark also provides habitat and food for wildlife and plays a role in ecosystem ecology as part of the tree’s protective system.

Etymology traces the word to Old French escorce, from Latin cortex or corticis, cognate with the English word cortex.