TRANSPORT IN PLANTS

• Functions of Xylem & Phloem

• Plants contain two types of transport vessel:
• Xylem vessels – transport water and minerals
(pronounced: zi-lem) from the roots to the stem and
leaves
• Phloem vessels – transport food materials (mainly
sucrose and amino acids) made by the plant from
photosynthesising leaves to non-photosynthesising
regions in the roots and stem (pronounced: flow-em)
• These vessels are arranged throughout the root,
stem and leaves in groups called vascular bundles
Vascular bundles
• Xylem and phloem tissues are found in groups
called vascular bundles.
• The position of these bundles varies in different parts of the
plant.
• In a leaf, for example, the phloem is usually found closer to
the lower surface.
• Root
• Xylem vessels are tough and strong, so the vascular bundles
are in the centre of the root to resist forces that could pull
the plant out of the ground.
• Stem
• The stem must resist compression (squashing) and bending
forces caused by the plant’s weight and the wind. The
vascular bundles are arranged near the edge of the stem,
with the phloem on the outside and the xylem on the
inside.
HOW IS THE XYLEM VESSEL FORMED?
• Mature xylem consists of elongated dead cells,
arranged end to end to form
continuous vessels (tubes).
• Mature xylem vessels:
• contain no cytoplasm
• are impermeable to water
• have tough walls containing a woody material
called lignin
 PHLOEM VESSELS
• Phloem consists of living cells arranged end to end.
Unlike xylem, phloem vessels contain cytoplasm, and
this goes through holes from one cell to the next.
• Phloem transports sucrose and amino acids up and
down the plant. This is called translocation. In
general, this happens between where these
substances are made (the sources) and where they
are used or stored (the sinks).
• This means, for example, that sucrose is transported:
• from sources in the root to sinks in the leaves in
springtime
• from sources in the leaves to sinks in the root in the
summer
• Applied chemicals, such as pesticides, also move
through the plant by translocation.
The root structure
Transverse section/cross section
The stem structure
Vascular bundles in a stem
Pathway taken by water up the plant
 Pathway taken by water in plants
• Root Hair Cells
• Root hairs are single-celled extensions of
the epidermal cells in the root
• They grow between soil particles and absorb
water and minerals from the soil
• Water enters the root hair cells by osmosis
• This happens because soil water has a higher
water potential than the cytoplasm of the root
hair cell
• The root hairs are where most water
absorption happens. They are long and
thin so they can penetrate between soil
particles, and they have a large surface
area for absorption of water.
Root hairs
How the Large Surface Area of a Root
Hair Cell is Useful
• The root hair increases the surface
area of the cells significantly
• This large surface area is important
as it increases the rate of the
absorption of water by osmosis and
mineral ions by active transport
Pathway of Water through Root to Leaf

• Osmosis causes
water to pass
into the root
hair cells,
through the root
cortex and into
the xylem
vessels
 Pathway of water into and across a
root
• Once the water gets into the xylem, it is carried up to the leaves
where it enters mesophyll cells
• So the pathway is:
• root hair cell → root cortex cells → xylem → leaf mesophyll
cells
• The pathway can be investigated by placing a plant (like
celery) into a beaker of water that has had a stain added to it
(food colouring will work well)
• After a few hours, you can see the leaves of the celery turning
the same colour as the dyed water, proving that water is being
taken up by the celery
• If a cross-section of the celery is cut, only certain areas of the
stalk is stained the colour of the water, showing that the water
is being carried in specific vessels through the stem – these are
the xylem vessels
 Transpiration stream
• What is Transpiration?

• Water travels up xylem from the roots into the leaves of the plant to replace
the water that has been lost due to transpiration
• Transpiration is defined as the loss of water vapour from plant leaves by
evaporation of water at the surfaces of the mesophyll cells followed by
diffusion of water vapour through the stomata
• Xylem is adapted in many ways:
• A substance called lignin is deposited in the cell walls which causes the
xylem cells to die
• These cells then become hollow (as they lose all their organelles and
cytoplasm) and join end-to-end to form a continuous tube for water and
mineral ions to travel through from the roots
• Lignin strengthens the plant to help it withstand the pressure of the water
movement

• Movement in xylem only takes place in one direction – from roots to

leaves (unlike phloem where movement takes place in different directions)
 How does Transpiration Occur?

• Evaporation takes place from the surfaces of

spongy mesophyll cells
• The many interconnecting air
spaces between these cells and the stomata
creates a large surface area
• This means evaporation can happen
rapidly when stomata are open
 How is the Transpiration Stream
Created?
• Water molecules are attracted to each other by cohesion –
creating a continuous column of water up the plant
• Water moves through the xylem vessels in a
continuous transpiration stream from roots to leaves
through the stem
• Transpiration produces a tension or ‘pull’ on the water in
the xylem vessels by the leaves
• As water molecules are held together by cohesive
forces (each individual molecule ‘pulls’ on the one below
it), so water is pulled up through the plant
• If the rate of transpiration from the leaves increases, water
molecules are pulled up the xylem vessels quicker
Transpiration has several functions in
plants

• transporting mineral ions

• providing water to keep cells turgid to support
the structure of the plant
• providing water to leaf cells for photosynthesis
• keeping the leaves cool (the conversion of water
(liquid) into water vapour (gas) as it leaves the
cells and enters the airspace requires heat energy.
The using up of heat to convert water into water
vapour helps to cool the plant down)
 Wilting

• If more water evaporates from the leaves of a

plant than is available in the soil to move into
the root by osmosis, then wilting will occur
• This is when all the cells of the plant are not
full of water, so the strength of the cell walls
cannot support the plant and it starts to
collapse
Investigating Factors that Affect Transpiration
 Investigating the role of environmental factors in
determining the rate of transpiration from a leafy
shoot
• Cut a shoot underwater to prevent air entering the xylem and place in tube
• Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram and make sure it is airtight, using
vaseline to seal any gaps
• Dry the leaves of the shoot (wet leaves will affect the results)
• Remove the capillary tube from the beaker of water to allow a single air bubble to
form and place the tube back into the water
• Set up the environmental factor you are investigating
• Allow the plant to adapt to the new environment for 5 minutes
• Record the starting location of the air bubble
• Leave for a set period of time
• Record the end location of air bubble
• Change the light intensity or wind speed or level of humidity or temperature (only
one – whichever factor is being investigated)
• Reset the bubble by opening the tap below the reservoir
• Repeat the experiment
• The further the bubble travels in the same time period, the faster transpiration is
occurring and vice versa
Investigating transpiration rates using
a potometer
• Environmental factors can be investigated in
the following ways:
• Temperature : Temperature of room (cold room
and warm room)
• Humidity : Spray water in plastic bag and wrap
around plant
 TRANSLOCATION
• Transport of Food
• The soluble products of photosynthesis are sugars (mainly sucrose) and amino acids
• These are transported around the plant in the phloem tubes which are made of living
cells (as opposed to xylem vessels which are made of dead cells)
• The cells are joined end to end and contain holes in the end cell walls (called sieve
plates) which allow easy flow of substances from one cell to the next
• The transport of sucrose and amino acids in phloem, from regions of production to
regions of storage or use, is called translocation
• Transport in the phloem goes in many different directions depending on the stage of
development of the plant or the time of year; however dissolved food is always
transported from source (where it’s made) to sink (where it’s stored or used):

• During winter, when many plants have no leaves, the phloem tubes may transport dissolved
sucrose and amino acids from the storage organs to other parts of the plant so that
respiration can continue

• During a growth period (eg during the spring), the storage organs (eg roots) would be the
source and the many growing areas of the plant would be the sinks

• After the plant has grown (usually during the summer), the leaves are photosynthesizing
and producing large quantities of sugars; so they become the source and the roots become
the sinks – storing sucrose as starch until it is needed again