Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The tissue of vascular plants that conducts water and minerals, provides support, and consists of tracheary elements and parenchyma cells. Woody tissue is made of secondary xylem produced by the vascular cambium.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In botany, that part of a fibrovascular bundle which contains ducts or tracheids—that is, the woody part, as distinguished from the phloëm, or bast part. Compare phloëm. See protoxylem, leptoxylem.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) That portion of a fibrovascular bundle which has developed, or will develop, into wood cells; -- distinguished from phloëm.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun botany A vascular tissue in land plants primarily responsible for the distribution of water and minerals taken up by the roots; also the primary component of wood.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the woody part of plants: the supporting and water-conducting tissue, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[German, from Greek xulon, wood.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From German Xylem, from Ancient Greek ξύλον (ksulon, "wood").

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Examples

  • As more water vapor molecules exit the plant, the remaining water molecules tug on each other and will pull an entire column of water throughout the plant body through special tissues called xylem during the process of transpiration.

    Transpiration 2007

  • On the other hand, leafhoppers and planthoppers, that feed at least half the time on the deeper layer of conductive tissues (called the xylem), get knocked down.

    4 What's in a Neem 1992

  • In dicot roots the xylem is the tissue at the core (Figure 5.3).

    5. How plants live and grow 1991

  • The xylem is the part of the vascular system that carries water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves.

    5. How plants live and grow 1991

  • In the xylem are a number of vessels (_C_, _tr. _) at once distinguishable from the other cells by their definite form, firm walls, and empty cavity.

    Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses Douglas Houghton Campbell

  • As more water vapor molecules exit the plant, the remaining water molecules tug on each other and will pull an entire column of water throughout the plant body through special tissues called xylem during the process of transpiration.

    Featured Articles - Encyclopedia of Earth 2009

  • In nature, trees use water in tubular tissues, called xylem, like ropes that pull more water out of the ground, delivering it to leaves.

    The Open Piehole 2008

  • This tissue is comprised of two types of specialized cells called xylem and phloem.

    Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en] 2008

  • In nature, trees use water in tubular tissues, called xylem, like ropes that pull more water out of the ground, delivering it to leaves.

    The Open Piehole 2008

  • (AL-jee) Primitive organisms that contain chlorophyll but do not have structures, such as xylem and phloem, to transport fluids.

    algae 2002

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