phloem

American  

[floh-em] / ˈfloʊ ɛm /

noun

1. the part of a vascular bundle consisting of sieve tubes, companion cells, parenchyma, and fibers and forming the food-conducting tissue of a plant.

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phloem British  

/ ˈfləʊɛm /

noun

1. tissue in higher plants that conducts synthesized food substances to all parts of the plant

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phloem Scientific  

/ flō′ĕm′ /

1. A tissue in vascular plants that conducts food from the leaves and other photosynthetic tissues to other plant parts. Phloem consists of several different kinds of cells: sieve elements, parenchyma cells, sclereids, and fibers. In mature woody plants it forms a sheathlike layer of tissue in the stem, just inside the bark.

2. See more at cambium photosynthesis Compare xylem

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phloem Cultural  

1. The system of vessels in a plant that carries food from the leaves to the rest of the plant. (See xylem.)

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Etymology

Origin of phloem

First recorded in 1870–75; from German Phloëm, irregularly formed from Greek phló(os), phloiós “bark (of a tree), rind (of a fruit)” + -ēma passive noun suffix

Compare meaning

How does phloem compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• xylem vs. phloem

Explanation

In plants, the phloem is part of the system that carries nutrients everywhere they're needed. The phloem of trees is located just underneath the bark. Phloem is a type of plant tissue that resembles tiny tubes and ensures that every part of the plant — including its seeds, fruit, and roots — receives the sugar made during photosynthesis. Phloem, which is usually just inside the stem or bark, is named for a root word that means "bark." If you tap a maple tree for syrup, you'll drill holes through the bark and into the phloem, allowing the sugars (in the form of syrup) to flow out.

Example Sentences

The researchers found that beetles feeding on spruce trees absorb defensive compounds from the phloem, especially phenolic glycosides such as stilbenes and flavonoids.

From Science Daily • Jan. 1, 2026

While beetles gnaw away and burrow through the phloem under the trees' bark, the much smaller, flightless adelgid sucks out the trees' fluids and leaves behind a toxic saliva.

From Science Daily • May 14, 2024

The remnants of the xylem and phloem — tubules that transport water, sugars and nutrients throughout living leaves — somehow become a root.

From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2024

Most sap-sucking insects drill into a nutrient-dense plant tissue called phloem, but spittlebugs specialize in the much more dilute sap from another tissue, xylem.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 6, 2023

And lifting water is just one of the many jobs that the phloem, xylem, and cambium perform.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson