mycorrhiza
/ˌmʌɪkə(ʊ)ˈrʌɪzə
/noun (plural mycorrhizae /ˌmʌɪkə(ʊ)ˈrʌɪziː/) Botany
A fungus which grows in association with the roots of a plant in a symbiotic or mildly pathogenic relationship.In addition, most vascular plants could not grow without the symbiotic fungi, or mycorrhizae, that inhabit their roots and supply essential nutrients....
- 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.
- 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.
Derivatives
mycorrhizal
- 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.
- We quantified mycorrhizal colonization rates because mycorrhizae can play an important role in the nitrogen nutrition of plants.
- Roots were stained, mycorrhizal colonization in roots was measured and fungal hyphae development in soil was determined as explained above.
Origin
Late 19th century: modern Latin, from myco- 'of fungi' + Greek rhiza 'root'.