Xylem, Mon Amour

I love xylem. Why do I love xylem? Well, I’ll tell you: I love xylem because it’s one of the few little memory fish left in the pool of my plant biology studies. Xylem and phloem. And pith. I remember pith. ~MA waves at the little memory fish~

Xylem transports moisture and some nutrients up into plants and phloem transports organic materials, and that’s all I know. They always sound like moral examples in some Victorian nursery rhyme:

Xylem and phloem were two bad boys.
On Sabbath Day they made loud noise.
They dirtied their faces and tore their pants
And died and came back as parts of plants.

WRITING PROMPT: What bits of things does your main character vaguely remember from school?

MA

About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

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One thought on “Xylem, Mon Amour

  1. Jane

    April 28, 2011 at 8:54am

    Girrrl…..you crazy.

    (Thanks for the laugh.)

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  2. Lea Zeqiri

    April 29, 2011 at 12:34am

    Thank god for the poem, I was so busy mispronouncing, I had phlegm stuck in my throat.

    I think I’ll like this blog.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  3. Karen Peterson

    April 29, 2011 at 1:31am

    I knew that word, but for the life of me I couldn’t think of what it was!

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  4. Muay Thai Los Angeles

    May 2, 2011 at 4:01pm

    I’ve never heard of that rhyme, and I have dabbled in the plants before. My mother, who is an avid gardener, would appreciate that poem. I’ll have to pass it along šŸ™‚
    Ava

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      May 2, 2011 at 4:12pm

      The reason nobody has ever heard of that rhyme is that I made it up for the post. šŸ˜‰ I’m glad it sounds like The Real Thing, and I hope your mother enjoys it. šŸ™‚

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply

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