PLANT TRANSPORT TISSUES – XYLEM AND PHLOEM

Plants take water and dissolved minerals, make their food and then send back the food to different parts of the plant.

The xylem and the phloem make up the vascular tissue of a plant and transports water, sugars, and other important substances around a plant.

What is commonly referred to as ‘sap’ is indeed the substances that are being transported around a plant by its xylem and phloem.

Xylem

The xylem transports water and minerals from the roots up the plant stem and into the leaves.

In a mature flowering plant or tree, most of the cells that make up the xylem are specialised cells called vessels.

Phloem: Transports food from the leaves to the rest of the plant.

The phloem moves food substances that the plant has produced by photosynthesis to where they are needed for processes such as:

·       growing parts of the plant for immediate use

·       storage organs such as bulbs and tubers

·       developing seeds 

COMPARISON OF TRANSPORT IN THE XYLEM AND PHLOEM