The Amazing Partnership Between Plants and Fungi

Who would have thought that fungi could be so important to the life of a forest? Most trees live in partnership with subterranean mushrooms, called mycorrhyza, made up of a network of long filaments that wrap around the tree roots and even enter some roots, supplying water and minerals to them and getting sugars and other nutrients in return. Such plants would do very poorly or wouldn't survive at all if it wasn't for mycorrhyza, and the fungi cant live without the plant. This mutually beneficial arrangement is called symbiosis, which means living together.

Next time that you take a walk in the forest, think about this invisible process going on under your feet that is responsible for the trees and flowers that your eyes feast on.

Click [HERE] for more Field Notes.