Calyptrogen is a layer of rapidly
dividing cells at the tip of a plant root, from
which the root cap is formed. It occurs in grasses
and many other plants. The root cap is formed
by several layers of cells that envelop the root tip
externally. This covering of cells, of which the
outermost ones are dead, envelops and protects
the growing tip very much as a thimble protects
the finger.