What are the differences between the transport of materials in xylem and phloem?

Anitha Dunga : Subject Matter Expert at Edumarz

Solution : The terms xylem and phloem were discovered by scientist Carl nageli.

The term xylem is derived from the greek word xylon which means wood, and phloem is also derived from the greek word phloios means bark.
The xylem and phloem are the vascular tissues which are also called conducting tissues.
These are called conducting tissues because they conduct water, minerals, and nutrients for all parts of the plant body.
Xylem is responsible for transporting water for all parts of plants whereas phloem is responsible for transporting food materials through all parts of the plant body.

Difference between xylem and phloem

Xylem	Phloem
Xylem is a vascular tissue	Phloem is a vascular tissue
Xylem conducts water and minerals	Phloem conducts food materials
Water is transported from xylem in upward direction from roots to all other parts of the body.	Food is transported from phloem in both upward and downward direction from roots to all other parts and from parts to the roots.
Transportation in xylem by the force called as transpiration pull	Transportation in phloem doesn’t have transpiration pull
Water transportation in xylem does not require energy.	Phloem requires ATP for food transportation.
Xylem is composed by dead cells	Phloem is composed of living cells
Xylem is responsible for transpiration and photosynthesis.	Phloem is responsible for protein transportation.
Xylem consist of tracheids, parenchyma, fibers and vessels	Phloem consist of parenchyma, fibers, sevia tubes and companion cells.