Plant sap facts for kids
Plant sap, or just sap, is a special liquid that moves inside plants. Think of it like a plant's very own transport system! This fluid travels through tiny tubes called xylem and phloem cells. Xylem cells carry water and important minerals from the roots up to the leaves. Phloem cells, on the other hand, move sugary liquids and other food molecules made by the plant to where they are needed.
It's important to know that sap is different from latex or resin. These are other liquids plants make, but they have different jobs and ingredients than sap.
Contents
What Kinds of Sap Are There?
Plants have two main types of sap, each with a special role.
Xylem Sap: The Water Carrier
Xylem sap is mostly water. It also contains plant hormones, which are like chemical messengers, and tiny amounts of minerals and other nutrients. This sap moves mostly in one direction: from the plant's roots, all the way up to its leaves. It's like the plant's plumbing system, bringing water to every part.
Phloem Sap: The Food Delivery System
Phloem sap is also mostly water, but it's full of sugars that the plant makes during photosynthesis. It also carries other important molecules and minerals. This sap moves from where the plant makes its food (like the leaves) or stores it (like roots), to other parts of the plant that need energy to grow.
Many animals, especially a group of insects called Hemiptera (like leafhoppers), love to feed directly on phloem sap. It's their main food! Phloem sap is rich in nutrients and usually doesn't have many toxins. However, it's a very specific diet, and only a few animals are specially adapted to eat it.
Many more animals eat phloem sap indirectly. They feed on "honeydew," which is a sweet, sticky liquid that phloem-feeding insects produce. Honeydew is easier for many animals to digest than the sap itself. Other animals might eat the insects that have grown big by drinking phloem sap.
Products Made from Sap
Humans use plant sap to make many different products. One famous example is maple syrup. This delicious syrup is made from the sap of sugar maple trees.
The color of sap can be different for various plants:
- Banana plants have colorless sap.
- Some plants in the Myristicaceae family have red sap.
- Plants in the cashew family can have black sap.
- Some Gluciaceae plants have yellow sap.
- The Symphonia globilifera tree produces green sap.
Images for kids
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Sap droplets of a snake plant.
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Leafhoppers feeding on plant sap, with ants nearby.
See also
In Spanish: Savia para niños
