Today I just learned about Xylem, the tissue type in plants that create a pathway for water. Aside from being totally beautiful, the Xylem are neat because their function is in being dead. They grow to be the right size and get to the right place, then die and hollow out so that water can pass through them. So that "maturity" for this tissue is actually death. Which is interesting, that something organic could serve it's purpose in life only when dead.
Posted by bluprnt at May 25, 2004 08:00 PM