I understand basically how water transport from roots to leaves through the xylem works, but I have no idea of the timescales involved.
How long does it take for water to get from root tips to leaves? How does this speed change in different parts of the plant? How does it differ between different plant types? How is it affected by plant size?
Also, I guess it changes from relatively fast in the middle of the day to almost zero at night, but how does it change during a normal sunny day (e.g. sinusoidal? More like a square wave?)