 Trees, shrubs, grasses, flowering plants, and ferns are all vascular plants; just about everything that is not a moss, algae, lichen, or fungus is vascular. These plants have systems of 'veins' through which water and nutrients can be moved throughout the plant.  The 'veins' responsible for moving fluids up and down a plant are called xylem and phloem.Xylem transports plant water and minerals up from the roots, which obtain them from the soil. They are moved up the plant to the leaves. Water evaporating from the leaves drives this process, called transpiration. Phloem transports food in the form of sap, made up of sugars, proteins, and other organic molecules manufactured by the leaves using photosynthesis, back down to the rest of the plant. Some are stored in the roots. As the plant continues to grow, these nutrients move back up from the root storage into the plant. Movement of fluids within the phloem is driven by fluid pressure, using a process called translocation. Vascular plants are often able to grow higher than other plants due to the rigidity of xylem cells, which support the plant.   |