What is xylem

Stems primarily provide plants structural support. This tutorial includes lectures on the external form of a woody twig and the origin and development of stems.

Also included are the different modified stems that carry out special functions. Read More. Plant organs are comprised of tissues working together for a common function. The different types of plant tissues are meristematic, simple, secretory, and complex tissues. Find out the distinctive characteristics of each tissue in terms of structure and function This study guide tackles plant roots in greater detail.

It delves into the development of plant roots, the root structure, and the major regions of a plant root. It also talks about the different forms of roots that have specialized functions.

Plants need to regulate water in order to stay upright and structurally stable. Find out the different evolutionary adaptations of plants in terms of structure e. The movement of molecules specifically, water and solutes is vital to the understanding of plant processes.

This tutorial will be more or less a quick review of the various principles of water motion in reference to plants. Seed plants are vascular plants. They differ from the other vascular plants in producing seeds that germinate into a new plant.

Two major plant divisions are covered: the angiosperms and the gymnosperms. Cell Biology. Skip to content Main Navigation Search. Dictionary Articles Tutorials Biology Forum. Table of Contents. Biology definition: Xylem is a type of vascular tissue in plants. It is primarily involved in transporting water and minerals from the roots to the shoot and leaves and providing structural support. It is found in the stems and leaves of vascular plants. Compare: phloem. In plants, the different types of tissues include the meristematic tissues, the permanent tissues , and the reproductive tissues.

The permanent tissues are further classified into fundamental tissues and complex permanent tissues. The complex permanent tissues include the vascular tissues, particularly, xylem and phloem.

The mode of transport is passive transport. For taller plants, though, the capillary action is coupled by transpiration , which is the loss of water by evaporation.

The loss of water through transpiration leads to a high surface tension, which in turn, results in negative pressure in the xylem. Consequently, the water from the roots is lifted to as high as several meters from the ground towards the apical parts of the plant. A common characteristic of a xylem that separates it from phloem Photosynthetic material flows through it. Water moves through it. It is a vascular tissue. Conducts water from roots to other parts of the plant Phloem.

Phloem and xylem. Xylem tissue has xylem vessels Angiosperms. Xylem resembles a star by having "prongs" of xylem tissues Monocot stem. Monocot root. Dicot root. Characterized by having a secondary growth in stems Monocots. Herbaceous dicots. Woody dicots. Send Your Results Optional. Your Name. This means, for example, that sucrose is transported: from sources in the root to sinks in the leaves in spring time from sources in the leaves to sinks in the root in the summer Applied chemicals, such as pesticides , also move through the plant by translocation.

Water and minerals. Transpiration stream. Sucrose and amino acids. The cells are no longer alive. Lignin gives strength and support to the plant. We call lignified cells wood. Phloem 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 Transport in the phloem is therefore both up and down the stem.

The cells that make up the phloem are adapted to their function: Sieve tubes — specialised for transport and have no nuclei. Each sieve tube has a perforated end so its cytoplasm connects one cell to the next.

A tissue in vascular plants that carries water and dissolved minerals from the roots and provides support for softer tissues. Xylem consists of several different types of cells: fibers for support, parenchyma for storage, and tracheary elements for the transport of water. The tracheary elements are arranged as long tubes through which columns of water are raised.

In a tree trunk, the innermost part of the wood is dead but structurally strong xylem, while the outer part consists of living xylem, and beyond it, layers of cambium and phloem. See more at cambium capillary action.