Water enters at the roots
Roots absorb water and dissolved minerals from soil. Vascular plants have transport tissues that carry materials through the plant.
Plant transportation
Connect roots, stems and leaves through the movement of water and sugars.
Class notes
Open PDF →Xylem and transpiration
Xylem moves water and minerals, mostly upward from roots. Water evaporates from leaves, mainly through stomata; this loss is called transpiration and helps pull water upward.
Phloem moves sugars
Phloem carries dissolved sugars from sources, such as leaves, to growing or storage regions. Unlike the usual upward xylem flow, phloem transport can occur in different directions between sources and sinks.
Explore the idea
01Roots
Roots absorb water and dissolved minerals from the soil.
02Xylem
Xylem carries water and minerals through the plant, largely upward from the roots.
03Phloem
Phloem transports sugars from sources to parts of the plant that use or store them.
Explore this idea further
Watch: Xylem and phloem · FuseSchool
Connect roots, stems and leaves through the movement of water and sugars.
Open on YouTube →How can water absorbed by roots reach a leaf?
Reveal the reasoning
Water moves through xylem in the root and stem to the leaf; evaporation from leaves helps pull water upward.
Try it yourself.
Trace water from soil to the air around a leaf.
Check your thinking
Soil → roots → xylem in root and stem → leaf → evaporation and exit through stomata.
Common question: Does phloem carry only water upward?
No. Phloem transports sugars between sources and sinks, and its direction depends on their locations.
Take it further.
Why might closing stomata help a plant on a dry day, and what is a trade-off?
See a possible explanation
Closing stomata reduces water loss, but it can also limit carbon dioxide entering the leaf for photosynthesis.