Množina: phloems
(Botany) Tissue that conducts synthesized food substances (e.g., from leaves) to parts where needed; consists primarily of sieve tubes; SYN. bast.
Bast tissue. Tissue found in vascular plants whose main function is to conduct sugars and other food materials from the leaves, where they are produced, to all other parts of the plant.
Phloem is composed of sieve elements and their associated companion cells, together with some sclerenchyma and parenchyma cell types. Sieve elements are long, thin-walled cells joined end to end, forming sieve tubes; large pores in the end walls allow the continuous passage of nutrients. Phloem is usually found in association with xylem, the water-conducting tissue, but unlike the latter it is a living tissue.