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Biology vocabulary · Plant Biology

Transpiration

Meaning in biology, with examples

/ˌtrænspəˈreɪʃən/nounCommon term

In biology, transpiration means: The loss of water vapor from a plant, mainly through the stomata in its leaves. It pulls water up through the xylem from the roots.

In Turkish: terleme, transpirasyon

How it is used

The rate of transpiration rises with heat, wind, light and low humidity, and students measure it with a potometer. Transpiration also cools the plant. The verb is transpire, but in everyday English 'transpire' usually means 'happen' or 'become known'.

Example sentences

  1. On hot, windy days the rate of transpiration increases sharply.

  2. A large tree can lose hundreds of liters of water a day through transpiration.

Common collocations

  • rate of transpiration
  • transpiration stream
  • transpiration pull
  • reduce transpiration
  • stomaA tiny pore, mostly on the underside of a leaf, that lets carbon dioxide in and oxygen and water vapor out. Each stoma is opened and closed by two guard cells.
  • xylemThe plant tissue that carries water and dissolved minerals upward from the roots to the stems and leaves. Its cells are dead when mature and form hollow tubes.
  • photosynthesisThe process in which plants, algae and some bacteria use light energy to make glucose from carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a by-product.

More terms: Plant Biology

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