Plant Transport Systems

Jun 8, 2024

Plant Transport Systems

Overview

  • Plants have transport systems to move food, water, and minerals.
  • Unlike animals, plants don't have a heart or blood circulatory system.
  • Main transport systems: Xylem and Phloem.

Xylem

  • Function: Moves water and solutes from roots to leaves.
  • Structure: Made of elongated dead cells, impermeable to water with walls containing lignin.
  • Characteristics: Tough vessels, form a continuous tube throughout the plant.
  • Location: In the center of roots (prevent uprooting and provide protection), near the edge in stems (provide strength and support).
  • Direction: One-way movement (roots to leaves).

Phloem

  • Function: Moves glucose (produced in leaves by photosynthesis) and amino acids throughout the plant.
  • Structure: Made of living cells, form a continuous tube.
  • Characteristics: Transports sucrose and amino acids.
  • Location: Part of vascular bundles.
  • Direction: Two-way movement (up and down the plant).

Vascular Bundles

  • Composition: Groups of xylem and phloem vessels.
  • Arrangement: Varies in different parts of the plant; central in roots, peripheral in stems.

Upcoming Topics

  • Detailed look at xylem and transpiration (next video).

Key Terms:

  • Xylem: Transports water and minerals.
  • Phloem: Transports glucose and amino acids.
  • Vascular Bundles: Groups of xylem and phloem cells.
  • Transpiration: The process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts.