The onion exodermis is made up of two cell types, i.e., long and short cells. Both form Casparian bands, but suberin lamella development is absent or delayed in the short cells. Long cells did not accumulate fluorescein, a common test for cell vitality, because of reduced wall permeability due to suberin lamella development. Immature, long cells without lamellae stained in 15 min, whereas mature cells with lamellae required a 3.5- to 4-h treatment before staining was visible. Long exposure to fluorescein was needed to show that mature long cells were alive. Their vitality appeared to decline slowly with age but was not affected by drought stress. Fluorescein staining was apparent in the long cells only after treatment of paradermal sections; when dye was applied only externally to root segments, it did not enter the long cells from the epidermis or from the neighbouring short cells. This result indicates that the long cells were connected symplasmically to the cells of the cortex but were either unconnected, or connected by plasmodesmata of small functional diameter, to the epidermal and short cells. If they were unconnected, they would not form part of the symplasmic path of ion transfer into the root. Keywords: Allium cepa L., drought, exodermis, suberin lamella, vitality.