Which vascular tissue is primarily responsible for transporting water and minerals?

Which vascular tissue is primarily responsible for transporting water and minerals?

• A. Phloem
• B. Cortex
• C. Epidermis
• D. Xylem

Answer: (D)

Water and minerals are moved through a plant primarily by xylem, the vascular tissue specialized for upward transport from roots to shoots. Xylem vessels and tracheids form long, hollow tubes that are dead at maturity and have thick, lignified walls, which creates a continuous conduit for water to rise through capillary action, cohesion, and the transpiration pull from leaves. As water evaporates from the leaf surfaces, a negative pressure pulls more water up from the roots, carrying dissolved minerals along. Phloem, by contrast, carries organic nutrients like sugars from sources to sinks and can move in multiple directions depending on plant needs, not bulk water and mineral transport. Cortex is ground tissue that provides support and storage, not a transport channel for water/minerals. The epidermis is the outer protective layer and also not involved in the bulk movement of water and minerals.

Water and minerals are moved through a plant primarily by xylem, the vascular tissue specialized for upward transport from roots to shoots. Xylem vessels and tracheids form long, hollow tubes that are dead at maturity and have thick, lignified walls, which creates a continuous conduit for water to rise through capillary action, cohesion, and the transpiration pull from leaves. As water evaporates from the leaf surfaces, a negative pressure pulls more water up from the roots, carrying dissolved minerals along.

Phloem, by contrast, carries organic nutrients like sugars from sources to sinks and can move in multiple directions depending on plant needs, not bulk water and mineral transport. Cortex is ground tissue that provides support and storage, not a transport channel for water/minerals. The epidermis is the outer protective layer and also not involved in the bulk movement of water and minerals.