Choose the correct answer from each of the four options given below:
The shoot from a balsam plant is kept in a beaker containing eosin solution (pink). The pink colour will be distinctly seen in the:
Topic: Eosin experiment — path of water
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Answer
(a) Xylem.
The XYLEM conducts water and dissolved minerals upward from the root to the leaves. Eosin dissolves in that water and travels with it, so a section of the stem afterwards shows the xylem stained distinctly pink.
This is a standard experiment to demonstrate the PATH of water, and a balsam plant is used because its stem is soft and translucent, so the rising pink column can be seen even from outside.
THE TRAP is PHLOEM, the other conducting tissue. The distinction is fundamental and is examined constantly: XYLEM — carries WATER and MINERALS, UPWARD only, from root to leaf PHLOEM — carries prepared FOOD, in BOTH directions, from the leaves to wherever it is needed (translocation)
Since eosin is dissolved in water, it can only follow the water — which means the xylem.
Xylem.