exÂ·peÂ·dite. (Äkâ²spÄ­-dÄ«tâ²) tr.v. exÂ·peÂ·ditÂ·ed, exÂ·peÂ·ditÂ·ing, exÂ·peÂ·dites. To speed up the progress of or execute quickly: expedite the review of a legal case; expedite a loan application.
The cortex, composed primarily of parenchyma cells, is the largest part of the primary root, but in most dicots (eudicots) and in gymnosperms that undergo extensive secondary growth, it is soon crushed, and its storage function assumed by other tissues.
The first root that comes from a plant is called the radicle. A root's four major functions are 1) absorption of water and inorganic nutrients, 2) anchoring of the plant body to the ground, and supporting it, 3) storage of food and nutrients, 4) vegetative reproduction and competition with other plants.