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As the various components of the cadmium (Cd) root sink have not been clearly described, there is a need to precisely measure the respective contributions of apoplast and symplast to short‐term root Cd uptake and to explain the linear component of the absorption isotherms. A new method of fractionating Cd in roots was applied to two plant species with contrasting abilities to accumulate Cd: maize (Zea mays) and a Cd‐hyperaccumulating ecotype of alpine pennycress (Noccaea caerulescens). Their roots were exposed for 1 h to increasing concentrations of labeled Cd. Series of desorption baths were used to obtain the root apoplastic Cd in combination with a brief freezing step in liquid nitrogen to separate the intracellular metal from the apoplastic one. The apoplastic uptake accounted for 15% to 82% and for 48% to 96% of the total Cd uptake of maize and of alpine pennycress roots, respectively. In the case of maize, the concentration‐dependent symplastic net flux fitted a biphasic Michaelis‐Menten function, while in the case of alpine pennycress, a Michaelis‐Menten‐plus‐linear function proved a better fit. The second component of the symplastic net flux may reflect absorption through a low‐affinity transport system. Short‐term Cd uptake by roots is dominated by the high‐affinity transport system for exposure concentrations below 1 μM for maize and 0.2 μM for alpine pennycress, while cell‐wall binding prevailed for higher exposure concentrations.

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