The root has two parts:
1. Young part
2. Mature part
1. Young part: The young part of the root can be further differentiated in to:
- Root cap
- Meristematic region or region of cell division
- Region of cell elongation
- Root hair region
- Mature region
Absorption of water and minerals is mainly carried out by Root hair region. The root hair region is situated just next to the zone of elongation. The cells of this region stop dividing and begin to differentiate. The outer wall of the cells of an outer most layer (epidermis or epiblema) protrudes outwards to form a hair-like outgrowth called root hair.
The cells of this region have thin and elastic walls and are without any kind of thickening deposition. The root hairs traverse through the interparticle space of soil particle. This results in to increase in surface area with soil many folds. “It is this region which is mainly concerned with absorption”.
