A complete explanation of what xylem is, starting from its definition, function, characteristics, tissue structure, and its constituent components in detail.
What is Xylem
What is xylem? Xylem is a transport tissue found in plants. The function of xylem is to transport water and minerals from the roots to the leaves. Xylem vessels are referred to as wood vessels. Xylem tissue is a complex network which consists of various kinds of cells.
In general, woody vascular tissue consists of two dead cells that have thick walls and contain lignin. In addition to functioning as a transport network, it turns out that the wooden vessels also function as a reinforcing network.
Xylem Function
The function of the Xylem / wooden vascular network is as a means of transportation or means of transport. This tissue functions to transport water, minerals, and nutrients from the roots to the leaves. Furthermore, all the content will be distributed to all parts of the plant. These substances will be absorbed in the soil by the roots and will then be transported throughout the plant body.
Characteristics of Xylem
The vascular tissue of wood has its own characteristics that distinguish it from phloem tissue . The characteristics of xylem are as follows:
- Have thick cell cold
- The cells are tracheid type
- Wood vessels are composed of various types of cells
- The xylem contains lignin
- Wood vessels are composed of dead cells
- Wood vessels are composed of trachea, wood vessel fibers, tracheids, and also wood parenchyma
Xylem Structure
What is the structure of the xylem? You need to know that the components of the wooden vessels consist of the trachea, tracheids, and the wood vessel parenchyma . We will provide a full explanation below.
1. Trachea
The trachea is a component of the xylem tissue which has thick walls consisting of tubes . The tubes are coated by lignin and secondary cellulose so that they have a tough and hard texture.
In general, the trachea can only be found in closed seed plants or what we also know as angiosperms. Meanwhile, for plants with open seeds, you can only find them in melinjo.
2. Tracheids
What are tracheids? Tracheids are components that make up wooden vessels that have a small diameter when compared to the diameter found in the trachea. For the size of the diameter is approximately 30 mm. Tracheids can be found in all types of seed plants (spermatophyta)
3. Xylem parenchyma
The third structure of the xylem is the vascular parenchyma. The vascular parenchyma is part of the living cells. Wood vessel parenchyma can be found in both primary and secondary. For secondary xylem, there are two types of parenchyma, namely wood vessels and pith radius.
Parenchyma cells are the part that serves as a food reserve in the form of starch. This substance will usually be buried until later times of growth and will then begin to decrease along with the activities of the cambium.