Micrograph shows a round plant stem cross section. There are four teardrop-shaped vascular bundles, with the narrow point of the teardrop meeting at a round xylem vessel. Within each teardrop near the center are two to four more xylem vessels. To the outside of the xylem vessels are much smaller phloem cells. The four vascular bundles are encased in ground tissue. Cells of the ground tissue are somewhat larger than phloem. The stem is protected by an outer layer of dermal tissue, made up of several layers of cells smaller than phloem cells.
{}