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A vascular bundle is a part of the transport system in
vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They ...
s. The transport itself happens in the stem, which exists in two forms:
xylem Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem. The basic function of xylem is to transport water from roots to stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients. The word ''xylem'' is derived fr ...
and
phloem Phloem (, ) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is ...
. Both these tissues are present in a vascular bundle, which in addition will include supporting and protective tissues. In addition, there is also a tissue between xylem and phloem which is the cambium. The xylem typically lies towards the axis ( adaxial) with phloem positioned away from the axis ( abaxial). In a stem or root this means that the xylem is closer to the centre of the stem or root while the phloem is closer to the exterior. In a leaf, the adaxial surface of the leaf will usually be the upper side, with the abaxial surface the lower side. The sugars synthesized by the plant with sun light are transported by the phloem, which is closer to the lower surface. Aphids and leaf hoppers feed off of these sugars by tapping into the phloem. This is why aphids and leaf hoppers are typically found on the underside of a leaf rather than on the top. The position of vascular bundles relative to each other may vary considerably: see stele.


Bundle-sheath cells

The bundle-sheath cells are the photosynthetic cells arranged into a tightly packed sheath around the vein of a leaf. It forms a protective covering on leaf vein, and consist of one or more cell layers, usually parenchyma. Loosely arranged mesophyll cells lie between the bundle sheath and the leaf surface. The Calvin cycle is confined to the
chloroplasts A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it i ...
of these bundle sheath cells in C4 plants. C2 plants also use a variation of this structure.


References


Further reading

*Campbell, N. A. & Reece, J. B. (2005). Photosynthesis. ''Biology'' (7th ed.). San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings.


External links


Curtis, Lersten, and Nowak
cross section of a vascular bundle

another cross section of a vascular bundle {{Authority control Plant anatomy Plant physiology Tissues (biology)