xylem

xylem (zī`ləm): see stem; wood.

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xylem

Cross section of oak xylem

(credit: J.M. Langham)

Part of a plant's vascular system that conveys water and dissolved minerals from the roots to the rest of the plant and furnishes mechanical support. Xylem constitutes the major part of a mature woody stem or root and the wood of a tree, and consists of specialized water-conducting tissues made up mostly of several types of narrow, elongate, hollow cells. Xylem formation begins when the actively dividing cells of growing root and shoot tips give rise to primary xylem. Eventually the primary xylem is covered by secondary xylem produced by the cambium. The primary xylem cells die, forming a hard skeleton that supports the plant but loses its conducting function. Thus, only the outer part of the wood (secondary xylem) serves in water conduction.

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xylem

a plant tissue that conducts water and mineral salts from the roots to all other parts, provides mechanical support, and forms the wood of trees and shrubs. It is of two types (see protoxylem, metaxylem), both of which are made up mainly of vessels and tracheids

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xylem [′zī·ləm]

(botany)

The principal water-conducting tissue and the chief supporting tissue of higher plants; composed of tracheids, vessel members, fibers, and parenchyma.

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Xylem

The principal water-conducting tissue and the chief supporting system of higher plants. This tissue and the associated phloem constitute the vascular system of vascular plants. Xylem is composed of various kinds of cells, living or nonliving. The structure of these cells differs in their functions, but characteristically all have a rigid and enduring cell wall that is well preserved in fossils.

In terms of their functions, the kinds of cells in xylem are those related principally to conduction and support, tracheids; to conduction, vessel members; to support, fibers; and to food storage, parenchyma. Vessel members and tracheids are often called tracheary elements. The cells in each of the four categories vary widely in structure. See Parenchyma

Xylem tissues arise in later stages of embryo development of a given plant and are added to by differentiation of cells derived from the apical meristems of roots and stems. Growth and differentiation of tissues derived from the apical meristem provide the primary body of the plant, and the xylem tissues formed in it are called primary. Secondary xylem, when present, is produced by the vascular cambium. See Lateral meristem

In the trade, softwood is a name for xylem of gymnosperms (conifers) and hardwood for xylem of angiosperms. The terms do not refer to actual hardness of the wood. Woods of gymnosperms are generally composed only of tracheids, wood parenchyma, and small rays, but differ in detail. Resin ducts are present in many softwoods. Woods of angiosperms show extreme variation in both vertical and horizontal systems, but with few exceptions have vessels.