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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.
Because phloem tubes are located outside the xylem in most plants, a tree or other plant can be killed by stripping away the bark in a ring on the trunk or stem. With the phloem destroyed, nutrients cannot reach the roots, and the tree/plant will die.
There is also a tissue between xylem and phloem, which is the cambium. The xylem typically lies towards the axis ( adaxial ) with phloem positioned away from the axis ( abaxial ). In a stem or root this means that the xylem is closer to the centre of the stem or root while the phloem is closer to the exterior.
The fascicular and interfascicular cambia thus join up to form a ring (in three dimensions, a tube) which separates the primary xylem and primary phloem, the cambium ring. The vascular cambium produces secondary xylem on the inside of the ring, and secondary phloem on the outside, pushing the primary xylem and phloem apart.
Xylem is the water-conducting tissue, and the secondary xylem provides the raw material for the forest products industry. [26] Xylem and phloem tissues each play a part in the conduction processes within plants. Sugars are conveyed throughout the plant in the phloem; water and other nutrients pass through the xylem.
Phloem fiber; Phloem parenchyma. Phloem is an equally important plant tissue as it also is part of the 'plumbing system' of a plant. Primarily, phloem carries dissolved food substances throughout the plant. This conduction system is composed of sieve-tube member and companion cells, that are without secondary walls.
In vascular cambium, the primary phloem and xylem are produced by the apical meristem. After this initial development, secondary phloem and xylem are produced by the lateral meristem. The two are connected through a thin layer of parenchymal cells which are differentiated into the fascicular cambium.