Meaning & use

xylem

noun·Academic

The plant tissue that transports water and dissolved minerals upward from the roots to the leaves.

See it in a sentence

Under the microscope, the xylem appeared as tiny tube-like cells running through the stem.

Rings in the tree trunk form as new xylem grows each year.

A note on using this word

Xylem moves water upward only, while its counterpart, phloem, carries sugars produced by photosynthesis throughout the plant.

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