Which tissue carries water and nutrients up from roots to the rest of the tree?

• A. Phloem
• B. Rays
• C. Xylem
• D. Sapwood

Answer: (C)

Water and minerals travel upward through xylem, the tissue that conducts water from the roots up to the rest of the tree. Xylem is made of hollow, dead cells that form continuous tubes from roots to leaves, and its movement is driven by transpiration in the leaves, along with cohesion and tension within the water columns. This is different from phloem, which mainly carries sugars and other organic nutrients in various directions, often from shoots to roots. Sapwood contains the active, living part of the xylem that conducts water, while heartwood is nonconductive. So, the tissue that carries water and nutrients up from the roots is xylem.