Question

Describe the vascular system of plants. Include brief descriptions of the characteristics and function of xylem and phloem.

Answer 1

Answer:

The vascular tissue of the plants distributes water and nutrients, which guarantees a constant growth. Each newly formed cell needs to become the corresponding cell type in vascular tissue.

Explanation:

Like animals, plants need water and nutrients. While animals use a circulatory and digestive system to obtain and distribute nutrients, plants use a vascular system. This system absorbs water, vitamins and minerals from the soil and then transmits energy in the form of carbohydrates to the roots. The main components of the vascular system are the xylem and the phloem.

Xylem is a complex tissue formed by several cell types. Its function is the conduction of water and minerals from the root to the leaves. Among the cells that form this complex tissue differ:

- Conductive cells or tracheal elements: they are dead elements at maturity, they serve for vertical conduction and support

- Vessel members are observed in Angiosperms, the largest plant group with the most recent evolution; They are short, wide cells with thick secondary walls, they differ from tracheids because they are perforated elements.

- Storage elements: parenchymal cells, thick walls, secondary, can present crystals and other cellular contents.

- Support elements: fibers in the Angiosperms and fibrotracheids in Gymnosperms, elements of intermediate characters between the fibers and the tracheids.

Phloem cells conduct food (photosynthesis produced by photosynthesis) from the leaves to the rest of the plant. They are living cells at maturity and in histological preparations colored with Astrablue take the color blue. Phloem cells are located outside the xylem.

The sieve elements of this tissue are: the sieve cells in the Gymnosperms and the members of sieve tubes with their respective accompanying cells in the Angiosperms. The accompanying cells retain their nuclei and control the neighboring sieve tubes. Dissolved food, such as sucrose, circulates through the screened areas that connect these cells to each other.

Being a complex tissue, it also has parenchymal cells for storage and fibers and sclereids as a support.