Upon absorption by the root, water first crosses the epidermis and then makes its way toward the center of the root crossing the cortex and endodermis before arriving at the xylem (Figure 4).
cortex - the tissue of a root confined externally by the epidermis (the "skin" of the root) and internally by the endodermis (the tissues encircling the vascular tissues) (Raven et al. 1999 ...