Phloem (/ˈfloʊ.əm/, FLOH-əm) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as photosynthates, in particular the sugar sucrose,[1] to the rest of the plant. This transport process is called translocation.[2] In trees, the phloem is the innermost layer of the bark, hence the name, derived from the Ancient Greek word φλοιός (phloiós), meaning "bark".[3][4] The term was introduced by Carl Nägeli in 1858.[5][6] Different types of phloem can be distinguished. The early phloem formed in the growth apices is called protophloem. Protophloem eventually becomes obliterated once it connects to the durable phloem in mature organs, the metaphloem.[7][8] Further, secondary phloem is formed during the thickening of stem structures.[9]
^Nägeli, Carl (1858). "Das Wachstum des Stammes und der Wurzel bei den Gefäßpflanzen und die Anordnung der Gefäßstränge im Stengel" [The growth of the stem and of the root among vascular plants and the arrangement of the vascular strands in the stalk]. Beiträge zur Wissenschaftlichen Botanik (Contributions to Scientific Botany) (in German). 1: 1–156. From p. 9: "Ich will die beiden Partien Dauergewebe, welche von dem Cambium nach aussen und nach innen gebildet werden, Phloëm und Xylem nennen." (I will call the two parts of the permanent tissue, which are formed by the cambium outwardly and inwardly, "phloëm" and "xylem".)