BRAINCAKEXylem
Xylem tissue contains several cell types: xylem vessels, which carry water, tracheids, fibres, which give support, and parenchyma, which stores food. The vessels are the main route for water and mineral ions.
Each xylem vessel develops from a column of cells called vessel elements. As they mature, several changes adapt them to their function:
1. The walls are thickened with lignin. Lignin is strong and waterproof, and it stops the vessels collapsing under the tension created as water is pulled up the plant.
2. The cells die and lose their contents, so there is no cytoplasm to slow the flow of water.
Sign in free to see the rest of this lesson, the R.E.C.I.P.E. recall steps and the quiz
BrainCake is free. Make an account in seconds and pick up where this page stops.
More in Transport in Plants
- Xylem and Phloem
- Evidence for the Movement of Water Through Xylem
- Phloem
- Root Hair Cells
- Symplast Pathway
- Apoplast Pathway
- Transpiration
- Cohesion-Tension Theory
All 21 lessons in Transport in Plants · All Edexcel AS-level Biology topics