Question

George Washington completely removed the bark from around a cherry tree but was stopped by his father before cutting the tree down. It was noticed that the leaves retained their normal appearance for several weeks, but then the tree eventually died. The tissues that George left functional were the

• A. phloem
• B. cortex
• C. xylem
• D. companion and sieve cells

Answer 1

The correct option is C xylem

Bark includes phloem and tissues produced from cork cambium in the cortex region. Bark does not include xylem. If all the tissues except the xylem of the main stem of a plant are removed in a ring, the root dies first. The function of the phloem is to transport synthesized food from leaves to other parts of the plant stem. Xylem carries water and minerals obtained from soil to leaves through the root and main stem. So, when the phloem of a plant are removed in a ring, food from the leaves will be unable to proceed further into the root, however, the leaves will receive water and minerals through xylem tissue from the roots and the shoot will remain alive. But, due to the lack of food, the root will no longer be alive. So, the xylem was functional for sometimes.