Concept
Version 10
Created by Boundless
Plant Tissues and Organ Systems
Cross section of a squash stem showing a vascular bundle
This light micrograph shows a cross section of a squash (Curcurbita maxima) stem. Each teardrop-shaped vascular bundle consists of large xylem vessels toward the inside and smaller phloem cells toward the outside. Xylem cells, which transport water and nutrients from the roots to the rest of the plant, are dead at functional maturity. Phloem cells, which transport sugars and other organic compounds from photosynthetic tissue to the rest of the plant, are living. The vascular bundles are encased in ground tissue and surrounded by dermal tissue.
Source
Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:
"OpenStax College, The Plant Body. October 17, 2013."
http://cnx.org/content/m44700/latest/Figure_30_01_02f.jpg
OpenStax CNX
CC BY 3.0.