Definition of mycorrhiza in English:
mycorrhiza
nounPlural mycorrhizae ˌmʌɪkə(ʊ)ˈrʌɪzəˌmīkəˈrīzə
Botany A fungus which grows in association with the roots of a plant in a symbiotic or mildly pathogenic relationship.
Example sentencesExamples
- In addition, most vascular plants could not grow without the symbiotic fungi, or mycorrhizae, that inhabit their roots and supply essential nutrients.
- For the past two years Dave has been working on a system of growing the mycorrhizae on a host grass plant in small beds of compost.
- The specialized roots which the plants grow and the fungus which inhabits them are together known as mycorrhizae, or ‘fungal roots’.
- These data thus support the authors' suggestion that mycorrhizae are important in enabling plant roots to exploit nutrient patches that might otherwise be out of reach.
- A special type of beneficial root fungi, called mycorrhizae, actually grow into plant roots, feeding off plant sap but also providing water and nutrients to the plant.
Derivatives
adjective
Botany One hundred intersections were investigated out of a subsample of root pieces of one plant and the presence of at least one mycorrhizal hypha was counted as infection.
Example sentencesExamples
- The fact that mycorrhizal fungi can form shared mycelial networks adds a further complicating factor.
- Roots were stained, mycorrhizal colonization in roots was measured and fungal hyphae development in soil was determined as explained above.
- We quantified mycorrhizal colonization rates because mycorrhizae can play an important role in the nitrogen nutrition of plants.
- Many rhizosphere fungi, including mycorrhizal fungi, are able to suppress soil-borne plant pathogens.
Origin
Late 19th century: modern Latin, from myco- 'of fungi' + Greek rhiza 'root'.