Why is the bark never as thick as the pith-to-cambium thickness of xylem beneath it?This is because:(1) The vascular cambium produces far more xylem than phloem cells (on the order of two to fifteen times more xylem than phloem in softwoods and hardwoods, respectively);(2) Thin-walled and unlignified bark cells are crushed during outer bark formation;(3) Outer bark is periodically sloughed from the tree.