Where internal phloem is present this is separated from the internal endodermis by an endocycle or internal pericycle, as it is sometimes called, and from the xylem by an internal mesocyclethese two layers, together with the outer mesocycle and pericycle, constituting the conjunctive tissue of the now hollow cylindrical stele.
When the pith is large celled, the xylems of the bundles are separated from it by a distinct layer of conjunctive tissue called the endocycle, and a similar layer, the pericycle, separates the phloem from the cortex.
The pericycle, medullary rays, endocycle and mesoderm all form parts of one tissue system, the external conjunctive, and are only topographically separable.
The protoxylem and protophloem are developed a few cells from the inner and outer margins respectively of the desmogen strand, the desmogenic tissue left over giving rise to the segments of endocycle and pericycle capping the bundle.
The differentiation of the stelar stereom, which usually takes the form of a sclerized pericycle, and may extend to the endocycle and parts of the rays, takes place in most cases later than the formation of the primary vascular strand.