Question

Conduction of sap in plants occurs through
A. Heartwood
B. Sapwood
C. Xylem
D. All of the above

Answer 1

It is an active wood which conducts and stores water and food substance in plants. It is made up of parenchyma cells which stores and translocates food.

Complete step by step answer: Water, nutrients and food are consumed by all plants. There is indeed a network found in plants called transportation mechanisms to spread these compounds across the plant. Flowering plants have a well-developed mechanism, termed the vascular system, to carry these components. Two types of tissues, xylem and phloem, reside in the vascular system. Xylem delivers water throughout the body of plants, and phloem distributes food. When a ring deep is broken enough around the healthy plant's stem to penetrate the phloem and cambium, and not the xylem. It will be seen that from the more cut-margin of the stem, sap continues oozing out. After several weeks, it can be seen that most of the stem above the ring has risen in diameter and the stem development stops far below the ring and it may die after a little time whenever the stored food is exhausted.
Hence, the correct answer is option B.

Additional Information : The upward water flow from its roots to the tips of the stem, branches and neighbouring leaves, with mineral salts, is called the ascent of sap. The water is absorbed mostly by root hairs of the roots from the soil together with dissolved minerals. The sap processed by the root hairs moves through the cortex to reach the components of xylem (vessels, tracheids and xylem parenchyma) through a pericycle of roots. Such sap transport occurs in 2 ways: one is through active transport which takes energy and another carried out by transpiration pull.

Note: Sapwood or alburnum is an efficient one that regulates and preserves food and water substances. This is a secondary factor. These have living cells of parenchyma which really store food and migrate it. Thus, in addition to water conduction, active wood even handles nutrients.