What is "xylem"

Xylem \Xy"lem\, n. [Gr. xy`lon wood.] (Bot.) That portion of a fibrovascular bundle which has developed, or will develop, into wood cells; -- distinguished from phlo["e]m.

"woody tissue in higher plants," 1875, from German Xylem, coined from Greek xylon "wood" (see xylo-).

n. (context botany English) 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.

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

Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in vascular plants, phloem being the other. The basic function of xylem is to transport water from roots to shoot and leaves, but it also transports some nutrients. The word xylem is derived from the Greek word ξύλον (xylon), meaning "wood"; the best-known xylem tissue is wood, though it is found throughout the plant.