What drives the flow of water through the xylem? Question 4 options: passive transport by the endodermis active transport by tracheid and vessel elements the evaporation of water from the leaves the number of companion cells in the phloem

Xylem

Explanation:

The flow of water through the xylem is driven by the evaporation of water from the leaves

The xylem of a plant is the system of tubes and transport cells that circulates water and dissolved minerals Water flows more efficiently through some parts of the plant than others Water absorbed by roots must cross several cell layers before entering the specialized water transport tissue referred to as xylem These cell layers act as a filtration system in the root and have a much greater resistance to water flow than the xylem, where transport occurs in open tubes Once in the xylem tissue, water moves easily over long distances in these open tubes There are two kinds of conducting elements (i. e., transport tubes) found in the xylem: 1) tracheids and 2) vessels Tracheids are smaller than vessels in both diameter and length, and taper at each end, vessels consist of individual cells or vessel elements stacked end-to-end to form continuous open tubes Water movement is passively driven by pressure and chemical potential gradients The bulk of water absorbed and transported through plants is moved by negative pressure generated by the evaporation of water from the leaves (transpiration)