Plants obtain carbon dioxide and water for photosynthesis and mineral ions from the ground through their roots.
They have large surface area due to their branching shaped, making it easy for CO2 to reach the photosynthesising cells.
Water is transported to the leaves through xylem tissue, which also transports mineral ions.
Phloem tissues transport sucrose and amino acid (molecules that combine to form proteins) from the leaves to other parts of the plant.

water + mineral ions → roots → xylem → leaves

sucrose + amino acids from leaves → phloem → other parts of the plant

Xylem

Xylem is a type of plant tissue that transports water and minerals from the roots to the leaves.

Function	Feature	Explanation
Support	The walls of vessels contain lignin	Lignin is very strong and can support the weight of trees. Xylem vessels in vascular bundles help the leaf to be held flat to provide a large surface area to absorb sunlight
Transport	Cells are dead with no contents.	Water can flow easily through the tube
Transport	No cross walls between dead cells	Continuous tube for water to flow through easily, form the roots to leaves.
Transport1uq	The walls of vessels cotain lignin	Lignin is solid and makes sure the vessels stay open and do not collapse, allowing easy water flow.
Transport	Diameter of vessels is between 15µm and 200µm	Narrow enough to ensure the column of water inside doesn’t break, but wide enough to allow alot of water to flow through.

Phloem

• Phloem vessels – transport food materials (mainly sucrose and amino acids) made by the plant from photosynthesising leaves to non-photosynthesising regions in the roots and stem (pronounced: flow-em)

Vascular Bundles

Xylem vessels and phloem tubes are usually found together. A group of xylem vessels and phloem tubes is called a vascular bundle.

Stem Vascular Bundles

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Root Vascular Bundles

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Transport of water

Plants absorb water from the soil through root hairs on the tips of their roots. The roots are protected by a protective cap at the tip and covered by a layer of cells called the epidermis.