Describe how xylem vessels are adapted to transport water and mineral ions from the roots to the leaves of a plant.

Xylem vessels have thick walls containing lignin, which makes them rigid and resistant to collapse under the negative pressure generated during transpiration.
Xylem vessels are hollow and contain no cytoplasm, so they can carry a continuous column of water.
The cells are joined end‑to‑end with no cross‑walls, forming a continuous tube from root to leaf.
Because water molecules are cohesive, a continuous stream can be pulled up the xylem by the tension created by transpiration.