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).

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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.