Monocot Root Labeled – Cross Section Beside a Dicot Root

All 13 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Cut across 7

Epidermis The outer skin of the root. Root hairs grow from it.
Exodermis The outermost layer of the cortex, with corky walls.
Cortex The wide band of thin-walled cells around the core.
Endodermis The innermost layer of the cortex. It rings the core.
Pericycle The layer just inside the endodermis. Side roots begin here.
Vascular tissue A ring of xylem and phloem around the pith.
Pith Soft thin-walled cells that fill the center of the root.

Up close 4

Metaxylem The wide xylem vessels. They form after the protoxylem.
Protoxylem The first xylem to form, with narrow vessels.
Phloem Clusters of small cells between the xylem arms.
Passage cell A thin-walled cell of the endodermis. It faces a xylem arm.

Compare 2

Monocot root Many xylem arms in a ring around a pith.
Dicot root A few xylem arms that meet in the center.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-03 and kept only where two of these use it. (1) National Council of Educational Research and Training (India), Biology, textbook for class 11, chapter 6, Anatomy of Flowering Plants, sections 6.3.1 and 6.3.2 and figure 6.6, read on archive.org, https://archive.org/details/ncert-kebo1 : the monocot root has epidermis, cortex, endodermis, pericycle, vascular bundles and pith; the innermost layer of the cortex is the endodermis; lateral roots begin in the pericycle; usually more than six (polyarch) xylem bundles in the monocot root, pith large and well developed; in the dicot root usually two to four xylem and phloem patches, pith small or inconspicuous; the figure names root hair, epidermis, cortex, endodermis, pericycle, phloem, protoxylem and metaxylem. (2) G. Haberlandt, Physiological Plant Anatomy, English edition of 1914 (public domain), https://archive.org/details/physiologicalpla00habeuoft : the suberized exodermis, the outermost layer of the cortex; diarch to polyarch bundles; the xylem plates may meet at the center or the center is a parenchymatous pith; pericycle, endodermis; passage-cells of the endodermis, thin-walled, always opposite the xylem plates and against the first-formed vessels, in Liliaceae and Orchidaceae among others. (3) J. N. Martin, Botany for Agricultural Students, 1919 (public domain), https://archive.org/details/botanyforagricul00mart : root hairs, cortex, endodermis, pericycle, the vascular cylinder with xylem and phloem; the xylem in the center with strands like the spokes of a wheel and the phloem between the spokes; lateral roots develop from the pericycle. (4) Wikipedia, Root, Endodermis, Exodermis, Pith, Xylem and Stele (biology), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root : root hair, epidermis, cortex, endodermis, pericycle, vascular tissue; passage cells are endodermal cells that keep thin walls; the exodermis is the outer layer of the cortex; pith is soft parenchyma, and in monocots it is found in roots; protoxylem forms first with narrower vessels, metaxylem later with wider ones, and in roots the protoxylem is toward the outside. (5) J. M. Coulter, C. R. Barnes and H. C. Cowles, A Textbook of Botany, volume 1, 1910 (public domain), https://archive.org/details/textbookofbotany01couluoft : protoxylem and metaxylem; exarch, the protoxylem external to the metaxylem. (6) University of Florida, IFAS, Plant Propagation, Cell Types: Xylem, https://propg.ifas.ufl.edu/01-biology/02-cell-types/12-celltypes-xylem.html : primary xylem is made of protoxylem and metaxylem. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry; own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

Monocot root labeled from the outside in: epidermis, exodermis, cortex, endodermis, pericycle, a ring of xylem and phloem, and the pith. A second drawing enlarges the core, and a third sets the root beside a dicot root.

Read the full guide

From the outside in

The epidermis carries the root hairs. Under it lies the exodermis, the outermost layer of the cortex. The cortex is the wide band of thin-walled cells, and its innermost layer is the endodermis. Inside that come the pericycle, where side roots begin, the xylem arms with phloem between them, and the pith.

Monocot or dicot

Count the xylem arms. A monocot root usually has more than six, around a large pith. A dicot root usually has two to four, and they meet in the center.

The drawing is a general monocot root. The number of xylem arms differs from plant to plant.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a monocot root in cross section?

From the outside in: the epidermis with its root hairs, the exodermis, the cortex, the endodermis, the pericycle, a ring of xylem and phloem, and a pith in the center. Everything inside the endodermis together is called the stele.

What is the difference between a monocot root and a dicot root?

A monocot root usually has more than six xylem arms in a ring around a large pith. A dicot root usually has two to four, its xylem fills the center, and its pith is small or hard to see.

Does a monocot root have a pith?

Yes. The center of a monocot root is a large pith of soft, thin-walled cells, and the xylem and phloem stand in a ring around it.

What are passage cells in a root?

Thin-walled cells of the endodermis that stand opposite the xylem arms. Their neighbors have thick, waterproofed walls, so the passage cells are where water and dissolved substances can still cross.

What is the difference between protoxylem and metaxylem?

Protoxylem forms first and has narrow vessels. Metaxylem forms after it and has wider vessels. In a root the protoxylem is at the outer tip of each arm, and the metaxylem lies toward the center.