Water Absorbing Organs

The organs responsible for absorbing water are, almost exclusively, young roots - and within a root, absorption is concentrated specifically at the zone of root hairs, a region close to the growing tip. Root hairs are delicate, unicellular outgrowths of individual epidermal cells, entirely lacking the protective cuticle layer found on most plant surfaces, and they are continuously being worn out and replaced by new ones as the root grows. Because root hairs are extremely thin, numerous, and cover a large area of the root surface, they collectively provide a very large total surface area for absorbing water from the thin f …