Answer: Xylem.
- A Epidermis
- B Cortex
- C Xylem
- D Phloem
Correct answer: C. Xylem
Explanation: Xylem tissue conducts both water and dissolved minerals upward from roots to other parts of the plant.
Water can travel through cell walls (apoplast) or cell-to-cell through the cytoplasm (symplast) - but the Casparian strip at the endodermis blocks the apoplast route entirely, forcing everything through a selectively permeable membrane (symplast) before it can enter the xylem.
Concept context
Water and mineral absorption, the ascent of sap, transpiration, and phloem transport via the pressure flow hypothesis.