Day 275: An interesting bit of information has come to light in my study of the Park's mycoheterotrophic species: the greatest variety and the largest numbers of them appear in two of only three areas having the same soil type. That's not to say they don't occur elsewhere; there are simply more of them where that soil exists. I have not yet had a chance to talk to the Park's geologist to find out what makes this soil type different, but it's something I want to research further. As for the third area, I have not explored it recently, although some fifty years ago, it was where I first observed Hemitomes congestum and my fascination with the plants then called "saprophytes" began. Of course now we know that these botanical wonders are not saprophytes at all, but mycoheterotrophs, i.e., plants which partner with a fungal component in order to fill their nutritional needs.
Our understanding of mycoheterotrophic relationships is limited. It's fairly new science, and as such, it's opened a door onto a broader scene in which fungus plays a role in the life cycles of other more mundane species as well. Some trees are known to rely on mycorrhizal connections, using the fungal web to "communicate" indicators of local stress to other trees of the same species. It's not a long reach to hypothesize that this may hold true for understory plants as well. The more I learn about mycoheterotrophy, the more convinced I am that the world goes 'round on fungus, and certain corners of it like Hemitomes Hill are richer and more diverse thanks to mycorrhizae.
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