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Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem; both of these are part of the vascular bundle. The basic function of the xylem is to transport water upward from the roots to parts of the plants such as stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients .
The cells in vascular tissue are typically long and slender. Since the xylem and phloem function in the conduction of water, minerals, and nutrients throughout the plant, it is not surprising that their form should be similar to pipes. The individual cells of phloem are connected end-to-end, just as the sections of a pipe might be.
Although its primary function is transport of sugars, phloem may also contain cells that have a mechanical support function. These are sclerenchyma cells which generally fall into two categories: fibres and sclereids. Both cell types have a secondary cell wall and are dead at maturity.
A vascular bundle is a part of the transport system in vascular plants. The transport itself happens in the stem, which exists in two forms: xylem and phloem. Both these tissues are present in a vascular bundle, which in addition will include supporting and protective tissues. There is also a tissue between xylem and phloem, which is the cambium.
Xylem cells are dead, hard-walled hollow cells arranged to form files of tubes that function in water transport. A tracheid cell wall usually contains the polymer lignin. The phloem, on the other hand, consists of living cells called sieve-tube members. Between the sieve-tube members are sieve plates, which have pores to allow molecules to pass ...
The presence of vessels in xylem has been considered to be one of the key innovations that led to the success of the flowering plants. It was once thought that vessel elements were an evolutionary innovation of flowering plants, but their absence from some basal angiosperms and their presence in some members of the Gnetales suggest that this hypothesis must be re-examined; vessel elements in ...
The phloem is the living portion of the vascular system of a plant, and serves to move sugars and photosynthate from source cells to sink cells. Phloem tissue is made of sieve elements and companion cells, and is surrounded by parenchyma cells. The sieve element cells work as the main player in transport of phloem sap.
In the life sciences, mass flow, also known as mass transfer and bulk flow, is the movement of fluids down a pressure or temperature gradient. [1] As such, mass flow is a subject of study in both fluid dynamics and biology. Examples of mass flow include blood circulation and transport of water in vascular plant tissues. Mass flow is not to be ...