Question

No vessels are found in the wood of
A) Pine
B) Eucalyptus
C) Teak
D) Sheesham

Answer 1

Hint: Vessels are a major component of Vascular bundles found in plants. Vessels are a part of Xylem. Xylem is responsible for the transportation of water and minerals across the plant body. Vessels are found primarily in angiosperms. And together with tracheids, vessels form the tracheary system of plants.

Complete answer:
No vessels are found in Pine. So, the correct option is (A).
The water transportation in plants is carried out by Xylem and Xylem further includes four types of cells which are as follows-
• Tracheids
• Vessels
• Xylem Parenchyma
• Xylem fibers
Vessels form the primary component of Xylem and they are dead cells at maturity. Key points regarding vessels are-
• The average length of vessels is 10 cm.
• It is an elongated channel and is formed of cells called vessel members.
• They possess a large cell lumen.
• They have cells which are circular in cross-section.
• They possess end walls with perforations.
• They are confined to angiosperms (flowering plants) only.
• Vessels are a syncyte (they are formed by piling up of elements).
So, when we look at the above options we can see that there are three angiospermous plants-
• Eucalyptus
• Teak
• Sheesham
While Pine is a Gymnosperm (non-flowering plant) and Gymnosperms are devoid of vessels instead Tracheids are present in them in place of vessels.

Note:
Some important points regarding vessels and tracheids-
> Vessels and Tracheids together form the tracheary system.
> So, it means that they both have functional similarities but still they differ from each other in several ways.
> Also, vessel cells have more potential for water conduction so it is present in Angiosperms only and not in Gymnosperms.