Xylem is a vascular tissue that conducts water and minerals from roots to the aerial parts of the plants.
The flow of water and minerals in xylem is always unidirectional.
On the basis of origin xylem can be of two types:
Primary xylem: It originates from the procambium during the primary growth of the plant. The primary xylem which is formed early is called protoxylem while the one formed later is called metaxylem.
Secondary xylem: It originates from the vascular cambium during secondary growth of the plant. It constitutes the ‘wood’.