Day 278: Pinesap (Monotropa hypopitys) is one of Mount Rainier National Park's most common mycoheterotrophic species. Even so, it's not exactly thick on the ground. As an obligate mycoheterotroph, it depends on a range of mycorrhizal species to assist with its uptake of nutrients from the soil. Newly emerging plants can be confused with even less common Gnome Plant (Hemitomes congestum). Hemitomes never develops a stalk and even at maturity, resembles the tip of a pink "pinecone" embedded in the ground. Radioactive glucose and phosphorus have both been used in field experiments to trace the relationship between Pinesap and its mycorrhizal partners (outside the Park, obviously), tests which clarified its cooperation with specific fungal species and also revealed an association with the roots of certain trees. There's a lot of activity going on in the forest underground!
No comments:
Post a Comment