Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker).

As we provide the news for free, we are relying on revenues from our banners. So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.
Thanks!

Click here for a guide on disabling your adblocker.

Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

'Cheating' orchid feeds off fungi instead of sunlight

While most plants need sunlight for photosynthesis, scientists have discovered a species of orchid in Japan that can survive by obtaining nutrients through a special type of symbiosis with fungi.

In a mycoheterotrophic plant has strange eating habits and could be found among all plant species groups. Mycoheterotrophy is a Greek term that describes the bizarre symbiotic relationship between some plants and fungi. By parasitizing upon the fungi, the plant is able to get nutrients without photosynthesis.

Scientists consider this a "cheating" relationship and would sometimes refer to these plants as "mycorrhizal cheaters." Mycoheterotrophic plants are extremely scarce and are typically small in size, usually hiding in the dark layer of vegetation beneath forest trees and are only discoverable during the flowering and fruiting period.

Since these 'cheating' plants are highly dependent on the activities of both the fungi and the trees that provide their nutrients, they are very prone to environmental destruction.

Read more at Nature World News
Publication date: