Transportation of materials in Plants

By Ms. Vriksha

~for educational purposes only~

Stems and Leaves

• Stems and leaves are major plant organs

• Stems hold the leaves, fruit and flowers up

• Plants need light to make food

• Higher the leaves, the easier it is for them to catch the sunlight to make food

Vascular System

• Plants use a system of tubes to transport materials – water and minerals

• This system of tubes is called the Vascular System

• The vascular system of plants are made of two kinds of tissues:

• Xylem

• Phloem

Vascular system (cont’d)

• Vascular tissue is found in roots, stems, and leaves

• Not all plants have a vascular system, if they do, we call them vascular plants

Vascular System (cont’d)

• Vascular comes from the Latin word, vasculum meaning “small vessels”

• In plants these vessels are xylem and phloem, what do you think are the vascular tissues in animals?

Xylem

Phloem

Phloem in Trees • In trees, phloem is just

beneath the bark

• When new phloem cells form and grow, they push old, dead phloem outward

• This dead phloem along with some other materials, make up the bark

• Bark protects the phloem beneath it