Plant stem tissues can be generally categorized as dermal, fundamental, and vascular tissues. The epidermis comprises the surface protection layer, which includes three types of cells: epidermal cells, which have a fairly thick, cuticle-like wall, and the guard and subsidiary cells, which are specialized cells that form the stomata.

The fundamental tissue of maize stem contains three types of cells. Sclerenchyma cells are found immediately beneath the epidermis. Typically, there are 1-3 layers of collenchyma cells, which are non-lignified, and lie below the epidermis. These cells are elongated axially with irregularly thickened walls. There are usually no sclerenchyma cells directly under the stomata. The parenchyma is the most numerous cell type in maize, forming the bulk of the stem. Parenchyma cells often have thin, non-lignified primary walls. The vascular bundles are surrounded by 2-11 layers of bundle sheath (fiber). The fibers are slender elongated cells
with multi-layered secondary walls. As the stem matures, the cells in the outer part of this zone become lignified.

Maize stem has scatted vascular bundles that are distributed throughout section, which is the common arrangement in monocots. These vascular bundles are scattered rather evenly through the stem pith but more numerous near the periphery. Each vascular bundle contains xylem, phloem, and other types of cells. Xylem, which is the tissue that conducts water through the plant, is composed of several different cell types. Protoxylem consists of one or two medium-diameter vessels and surrounding parenchyma. In some bundles, a cavity will be observed in the protoxylem, sometimes referred to as a protoxylem canal or protoxylem lacuna, which represents the position previously occupied by the first-formed protoxylem elements and is essentially an empty space. Metaxylem consists of wide vessels with a few narrow tracheids between them and also some surrounding non-lignified parenchyma. Tracheids are very elongated cells with bordered pit-pairs present along the walls of two adjacent cells. They differ from vessel elements in the imperforate end walls. Phloem, which is the tissue that moves sugars and other products through the plant, is also composed of several specialized cell types. Sieve tubes (wide in cross section) and companion cells (narrow and often darkly stained) form a regular crisscrossed pattern, which is typical of monocots. Most of the phloem is the latter-differentiated metaphloem, but one may also see the remnants of protophloem occurring as an irregular green line toward the outer face of the phloem and beneath the bundle sheath cells.