Two-Tone Water Transport

Materials:

1 white flower (or stalk of celery)
sharp knife
2 glasses of water
2 colors of food dye

Directions:

1) Put a teaspoon of one color of food dye into 1 glass of water. Then put 1 teaspoon of the other color of food dye into the other glass.
2) Cut about 5 inches of the flower's stalk from the bottom.
3) Stand glasses close together and put one of the stalk halves into each glass, making sure not to break or bend the stems too much.
4) Leave the flower in the water overnight. What do you see in the morning?

Explanation: Like roads, the tubes (phloem) that carry water to the petals of the flower don't all go the same way to the same place. If you used celery, you should be able to see the phloem tubes easily with the naked eye.


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