The term xylem is used in botany to describe a system of woody vessels that plants have and whose purpose is the transport of raw sap. This is considered a conduction plant tissue, which is also responsible for and transporting all those substances that are absorbed by the root of said plant and that transfer them to the branches and leaves. Among the main substances that the xylem carries, water, mineral salts and various nutrients stand out, in addition to this, this tissue has a background function, and is to provide support and support to the plant, in addition to reserving minerals.. As for the word itself, it originates from the Latin, "xylon" whose translation into Spanish is wood.
This tissue is characterized by being composed of large amounts of lignin, a compound that greatly contributes to the thickness of the plant stem, in addition to this substance, the xylem is made up of a series of main structures, such as In the case of the tracheids, which is a type of cell that is responsible for transferring the raw sap, there are also xylem vessels, also responsible for transport, and finally the pits, are regions that facilitate communication between cells.
With respect to the xylem vessels, these are composed of cells that are arranged as columns and that observe the walls in common. For their part, the tracheids are cells that, as mentioned above, function as transport, their shape is elongated, their diameter is smaller than the xylem vessel, and their capacity to transport is less, this is due to the fact that that their fibers do not reabsorb the walls in common, on the contrary they communicate through the use of pits.
The main function for which the xylem is responsible is to serve as a means of conduction and support, the former being the one that has the greatest importance for the development of the plant and its survival itself, since the sap depends on it gross is transferred from the moment the plant observes the nutrients, to the rest of the plant.
