Vascular Plants

What Makes a Plant Vascular?

Vascular plants have special tissues that help them grow tall and transport water and nutrients.

• Xylem carries water and minerals from the roots up to the leaves.
• Phloem carries sugar (food) made in the leaves to the rest of the plant.
• These tubes act like plant highways, giving support and efficient transport.
• Vascular tissues are bundled in roots, stems, and leaves, forming a transport network.
• The vascular system provides structure and allows plants to grow tall, reach sunlight, and live in diverse environments.

Flowering Plants – Monocots vs. Dicots

Monocots and dicots are the two major groups of flowering vascular plants, with key differences!

Monocots:


🔹 One seed leaf (cotyledon)


🔹 Parallel veins in leaves


🔹 Vascular bundles are scattered in the stem


🔹 Petals in multiples of 3


🔹 Examples: corn, lilies, grasses

Dicots:


🔸 Two seed leaves


🔸 Branching (netlike) veins


🔸 Vascular bundles in a ring


🔸 Petals in multiples of 4 or 5


🔸 Examples: roses, beans, oak trees

Fun Facts

Here are some interesting facts about vascular plants:

• The tallest vascular plant is a coast redwood tree, over 379 feet tall!
• Ferns were some of the first vascular plants, around before dinosaurs.
• Bamboo is the fastest-growing vascular plant—up to 35 inches a day!
• Sugarcane moves sugar through phloem tubes like a natural factory.

Review

Let’s quickly recap what we learned about vascular plants:

• What tissue carries food in a vascular plant? Phloem
• Which group has one seed leaf? Monocot
• Which group has net-like leaf veins? Dicot
• What do vascular plants have that mosses don’t? Tubes