All multicellular organisms require systems to transport fluids around their bodies. In plants, xylem and phloem tissue carry out this job and in this GCSE Biology quiz we take a closer look at these two similar yet different tissues.
Xylem and phloem both transport fluids in plants so what are the differences between them? Well, xylem is dead, woody tissue consisting of tubes and vessels which transport fluid (water containing minerals) from the roots of a plant, up through the stem and into its leaves. Phloem moves dissolved sugars from the leaves to the rest of the plant, including the growing regions and the storage tissues. The cells of the phloem are still living.