Plant Vascular Systems

Flashcards covering plant vascular tissues, water movement, and sugar translocation.

Xylem

Vascular tissue in a plant that carries water and nutrients from root to leaf.

Phloem

Vascular tissue in a plant that carries sugars from the leaves to the roots.

Stele

Another name for the vascular cylinder.

Vascular Cylinder

The central part of the root containing xylem and phloem.

Cambium

A layer of dividing cells (meristem) between the phloem and xylem responsible for lateral growth.

Mesophyll

The photosynthetic cells in a leaf. There are two main kinds of mesophyll: palisade and spongy.

Adhesion

The attraction of water molecules to some surfaces.

Cohesion

The attraction of water molecules for other water molecules.

Stoma

A minute pore in the epidermis of a leaf that allows the exchange of gases between intercellular spaces in the leaf, and the air outside the leaf.

Turgid

Swollen/distended by fluid.

Guard cell

One of a pair of cells surrounding a stoma.

Apoplastic phloem loading

Active transport of sugars into companion cells by carrier proteins.

Symplastic phloem loading

The passive diffusion of sugars from the source to companion cells through plasmodesmata.