The plants that have tube like structures for water and nutrients to travel up and down from roots and leaves are called vascular plants. They have specialized tissues called xylem and phloem for transporting water, minerals, nutrients and photosynthesis products throughout the plant body. Xylem is responsible for the upwards movement of water and minerals from the roots to the leaves. Phloem, on the other hand, transports downward synthesized food nutrients from the leaves to other parts of the plant. Examples of vascular plants include angiosperms (flowering plants), gymnosperms (non-flowering plants) and pteridophytes (ferns and fern allies).