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Xylem: A Vascular Tissue in Land Plants

Xylem is a vascular tissue found in plants that is responsible for the transport of water and minerals from the roots to the rest of the plant. It consists of three main cell types: vessel elements which form the water-conducting tubes, tracheids which provide structural support, and parenchyma cells. Tall plants have an evolutionary advantage because their xylem tissue allows them to grow taller and obtain sunlight while also dispersing seeds further.

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109 views

Xylem: A Vascular Tissue in Land Plants

Xylem is a vascular tissue found in plants that is responsible for the transport of water and minerals from the roots to the rest of the plant. It consists of three main cell types: vessel elements which form the water-conducting tubes, tracheids which provide structural support, and parenchyma cells. Tall plants have an evolutionary advantage because their xylem tissue allows them to grow taller and obtain sunlight while also dispersing seeds further.

Uploaded by

Joshua-Jonai Julye
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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 Xylem: a vascular tissue in land plants

primarily responsible for the distribution of


water and minerals taken up by the roots;
also the primary component of wood.

Vascular Tissue: Xylem and Phloem


The first fossils that show the presence of
vascular tissue date to the Silurian period, about
430 million years ago. The simplest arrangement
of conductive cells shows a pattern of xylem at
the center surrounded by phloem. Together,
xylem and phloem tissues form the vascular
system of plants.

Xylem is the tissue responsible for supporting


the plant as well as for the storage and long-
distance transport of water and nutrients,
including the transfer of water-soluble growth
factors from the organs of synthesis to the target
organs. The tissue consists of vessel elements,
conducting cells, known as tracheids, and
supportive filler tissue, called parenchyma.
These cells are joined end-to-end to form long
tubes. Vessels and tracheids are dead at
maturity. Tracheids have thick secondary cell
walls and are tapered at the ends. It is the thick
walls of the tracheids that provide support for
the plant and allow it to achieve impressive
heights. Tall plants have a selective advantage
by being able to reach unfiltered sunlight and
disperse their spores or seeds further away, thus
expanding their range. By growing higher than
other plants, tall trees cast their shadow on
shorter plants and limit competition for water
and precious nutrients in the soil. The tracheids
do not have end openings like the vessels do,
but their ends overlap with each other, with pairs
of pits present. The pit pairs allow water to pass
horizontally from cell to cell.

Structure: Xylem vessels are a long straight


chain made of tough long dead cells known as
vessel elements. The vessel have no cytoplasm.
They are not living, but are made by living cells.
The cells are arranged end to end and the cell
walls have disappeared. This makes a tube.
Vessels are made of a substance called lignin.
They have a lignified cell wall and a central
cavity. Vessel members are interconnected
through perforations in their common walls.
Lignin is a hard organic polymer. It makes the
cell walls rigid and is very long-lasting. It is the
lignin in xylem vessels which holds trees up.

Function: Water flows up the xylem vessels.


The evaporation of water from the stomata cells
in the leaves pulls up the water in
a transpiration stream. This is called capillary
action, because it depends on the way water
molecules stick to the walls of the xylem
(adhesion).
There is also some root pressure, because water
enters the roots by osmosis. This is important so
water gets upwards during the night when
transpiration is low.
As the water goes up, it carries some minerals
with it, so actually the xylem brings some
basic nutrients to the plant. The phloem mostly
distributes the more complex organic molecules.

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