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Phloem (/ ˈ f l oʊ. əm /, FLOH-əm) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as photosynthates, in particular the sugar sucrose, [1] to the rest of the plant.
In the stems of some Asterales dicots, there may be phloem located inwardly from the xylem as well. Between the xylem and phloem is a meristem called the vascular cambium. This tissue divides off cells that will become additional xylem and phloem. This growth increases the girth of the plant, rather than its length.
The phloem sugar is consumed by cellular respiration or converted into starch, which is insoluble and exerts no osmotic effect. With much of the sucrose having been removed, the water exits the phloem by osmosis or is drawn by transpiration into nearby xylem vessels, lowering the turgor pressure within the phloem. [4]
Xylem and Phloem A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant , the other being the root . It supports leaves , flowers and fruits , transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem , engages in photosynthesis, stores nutrients, and produces new living tissue. [ 1 ]
Botanists define vascular plants by three primary characteristics: Vascular plants have vascular tissues which distribute resources through the plant. Two kinds of vascular tissue occur in plants: xylem and phloem. Phloem and xylem are closely associated with one another and are typically located immediately adjacent to each other in the plant.
An example of analysis of phloem through sieve elements was conducted in the study of Arabidopsis leaves. By studying the phloem of the leaves in vivo through laser microscopy and the usage of fluorescent markers (placed in both companion cells and sieve elements), the network of companion cells with the compact sieve tubes was highlighted.
In woody plants, it forms a cylinder of unspecialized meristem cells, as a continuous ring from which the new tissues are grown. Unlike the xylem and phloem, it does not transport water, minerals or food through the plant. Other names for the vascular cambium are the main cambium, wood cambium, or bifacial cambium.
Bast fibres are soft and flexible, as opposed to leaf fibres from monocotyledonous plants, which are hard and stiff. [2] Since the valuable fibres are located in the phloem, they must often be separated from the woody core, the xylem, and sometimes also from the epidermis.