symplast The system of protoplasts in plants, which are interconnected by plasmodesmata. This effectively forms a continuous system of cytoplasm bounded by the plasma membranes of the cells. The movement of water through the symplast is known as the symplast pathway. It is one of the routes by which water travels across the root cortex from the root hairs and is the only means by which water crosses the endodermis. Compare apoplast.

symplast The continuum of cytoplasm through a plant that results from the cytoplasm in different cells being connected by plasmodesmata, forming an important pathway, e.g. for auxins.