Many summers ago (about 21 to be exact), a student brought a strange plant to the biology laboratory. The plant resembled a fleshy white fungus, except it had a scaly stem with inconspicuous flowers between the upper scales. It was collected near the Mineral King Game Refuge on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in central California, before this pristine area was included within the protective confines of Sequoia National Park. [Thus protecting this lovely forest and meadow wonderland from greedy developers who wanted to convert it into a fancy resort area.] After several hours of careful examination, we concluded that our mystery plant was indeed a "fungus flower," specifically known as fringed pinesap (Pleuricospora fimbriolata). Because their method of obtaining nutrition is very similar to that of wild mushrooms, fungus flowers are called "mycotrophic wildflowers" by botanists. [Mycotrophic literally means "fungus nutrition."] Our remarkable discovery that fateful summer afternoon eventually led to an extensive (obsessive/compulsive) search for more of these amazing flowering plant species throughout the forested mountains of the Pacific United States.
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Fringed pinesap (Pleuricospora fimbriolata), a striking mycotrophic wildflower that looks more like a fungus than a flowering plant. Each fleshy scale bears an inconspicuous white flower. Like a mushroom, it lacks chlorophyll and is nonphotosynthetic.
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Fringed pinesap (Pleuricospora fimbriolata), a striking mycotrophic wildflower that looks more like a fungus than a flowering plant. Like a mushroom, it lacks chlorophyll and is nonphotosynthetic.
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In natural forest ecosystems throughout tropical and
temperate regions of the world, many plant species depend on
symbiotic soil fungi living in their root systems. This is especially true
of coniferous forest ecosystems. The microscopic fungal filaments (called
hyphae) greatly increase the surface area of the root systems and
facilitate the absorption of water and mineral nutrients from the soil.
In return for this vital service, the photosynthetic trees reward their
fungal partners with energy-rich carbohydrates and amino acids. The
remarkable relationship has been termed mycorrhizae, and literally means
"fungus-roots." This fungus-root relationship is so widespread throughout
forested regions of the world, that some of the familiar mushroom-like
reproductive bodies pushing out of the forest soil are actually coming from
these extensive mycorrhizal fungi. But of all the mycorrhizal
associations, perhaps the most amazing are the strange and unusual
flowering plants that are also intimately connected to this fungus-root
partnership. Since many of these "fungus flowers" lack chlorophyll and are
incapable of making their own energy-rich carbohydrates, they are
absolutely dependent on the photosynthetic forest trees. Known as
"mycotrophic wildflowers" in botanical circles, some of these fleshy white
flowers superficially resemble a moist fungus as they push out of the soil.
They certainly include some of the world's truly bizarre flowering plants.
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A red fir forest (Abies magnifica var. magnifica) in the Sierra Nevada of California, home of some very unusual "fungus flowers."
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Flowering plants have colonized and exploited practically every conceivable habitat on earth, and the mycotrophic wildflowers are one of the best examples of this "adaptive ingenuity." Using labeled sugars containing radioactive carbon 14, scientists have shown that carbohydrates synthesized by nearby forest trees pass into the mycorrhizal soil fungi and eventually into the mycotrophic "fungus flowers." Since they are living parasitically
on fungi that are in turn parasitic on the roots of trees, these amazing
flowers have been termed epiparasites (a parasite on a parasite). Unlike
true root parasites, such as the broom-rapes (Orobanche species), they are
not directly parasitic on the host trees. They have essentially developed
a niche similar to that of a mushroom. But unlike fungi, they are true
vascular plants with flowers and seed-bearing capsules.
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California pinefoot (Pityopus californicus), a striking, rare mycotrophic wildflower that looks more like a fungus than a flowering plant. Each fleshy, scale bears an inconspicuous white flower. Like a mushroom, it lacks chlorophyll and is nonphotosynthetic.
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Soil fungi develop from spores that grow into slender, tubular threads called hyphae which may be septate or nonseptate (i.e. without cross-walls) depending on the species. A mass of intertwined hyphae is
collectively referred to as a mycelium. Under optimal conditions the
hyphae often grow very rapidly, and it has been estimated that if all the
hyphae produced in a day by a single soil fungus were laid end to end, they
could extend for nearly a mile. Some mycorrhizal associations can be
enormous, particularly in coniferous forest ecosystems. A single
individual of Armillaria bulbosa has been discovered that permeates more
than 30 acres of forest soil in northern Michigan and may be the world's
largest living organism. Some scientists speculate that it was spawned by
a single spore thousands of years ago. Another Armillaria in Washington
was recently found to consist of a subterranean mycelial network with
erect, above-ground mushrooms covering more than a thousand acres of forest
soil. These fungal monstrosities are rivaled in total size and mass by a
106 acre, 6,000 ton stand of genetically identical quaking aspen (Populus
tremuloides) in the Rocky Mountains. The aspen clone is connected by a
common root system, and has literally climbed over mountains and across
meadows. Any discussion of massive clonal colonies should also include the
conjoined polyps of coral reefs. However, the question still remains: Do
these clonal colonies qualify as a single individual, as in the 1200 ton
General Sherman giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) of California's
Sequoia National Park?
Although the appearance and mode of nutrition of mycotrophic wildflowers is certainly fungus-like, there are other fungal
characteristics among vascular plants. Pollen tubes not only resemble the
growth of fungal hyphae, but in pines, cycads and Ginkgo biloba they are
branched and actually absorb nutrients from the female "host's" tissue
(megasporangium). The multinucleate, cellular tubes (laticifers) found in
many members of the euphorbia family (Euphorbiaceae) and milkweed family
(Asclepiadaceae) are very similar to fungal hyphae. These fungus-like
vessels produce the characteristic milky, latex sap of these two plant
families. Some parasitic flowering plants, such as certain dwarf
mistletoes and the minute Pilostyles thurberi of the Colorado desert, live completely within the host and only emerge from their host to produce flowers. The
vascular tissue of these endoparasites literally permeate the host tissues
and truly resemble fungal hyphae.
Although most general botany textbooks
suggest that land plants evolved from ancestral green algae, some
authorities believe that land plants are comparatively too complex,
diversified too quickly, and contain numerous fungus-like cells. In fact,
Dr. Peter Atsatt of the University of California, Irvine (Ecology Vol. 69,
1988) suggests an algal ancestor containing a symbiotic, mineral absorbing
fungus similar to mycorrhizal associations. Atsatt's hypothetical ancestor
would be similar to a lichen with a dominant algal component. Although Atsatt describes a possible nuclear fusion between the algal and fungal cells resulting in a hybrid genome containing the traits of both parents, his provocative hypothesis has not been widely accepted by evolutionists.
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Pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea), showing a fleshy, scaly flower stalk developing from a large, fleshy mass containing mycorrhizal fungal mycelia and tree roots.
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Pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea), showing the fleshy, reddish flower stalks.
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In the shady coniferous forests of the Pacific coastal states there are several spectacular examples of "fungus flowers." Since many of these mycotrophic wildflowers are nonphotosynthetic, they were once thought to be
saprophytic (i.e. surviving on nutrients from decaying organic matter in the
soil). Today we know that these species are getting their organic nutrients
from nearby forest trees via a microscopic conduit system of mycorrhizal
soil fungi. It is a virtually untapped food source that these unusual
flowering plants have exploited. Most of these species are now placed in
the Indian pipe family (Monotropaceae) or the closely-related heath family (Ericaceae), although they were once placed in the wintergreen family (Pyrolaceae). The fabulous orchid family (Orchidaceae), the world's second largest plant family, has also tapped in on this food source with several mycotrophic species. Some fungus flowers are cream-colored
and fleshy like a fungus, including Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora), gnome
plant (Hemitomes congestum), California pinefoot (Pityopus californicus), and fringed pinesap (Pleuricospora fimbriolata). The name "pinesap" may refer to the fact that these plants commonly grow under pines (or other conifers) and "sap" their juices. Another ghostly white plant of the shady Pacific northwest forests is the rare phantom orchid (Cephalanthera austinae). Some of these pale fungus flowers are not commonly seen by casual observers, and could easily be mistaken for the fruiting body of a fungus.
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Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora) growing in the rain-soaked Douglas fir forest of Oregon. Each fleshy white stalk bears a single, bell-shaped flower.
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Other mycotrophic wildflowers are quite colorful, including the pinkish-red
pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea) and American pinesap (Hypopitys monotropa), the brilliant red snow plant (Sarcodes
sanguinea), the striking red and white-striped candystick (Allotropa
virgata), and the lovely coral-root orchids (Corallorhiza maculata and C. striata). Candystick is absolutely unforgettable, a spectacular
wildflower that resembles a red and white-striped peppermint stick placed in a Christmas stocking. All of these curious wildflowers develop from a mass of fungal hyphae and tree roots deep in the ground, and in Corallorhiza this fleshy mass resembles a clump of soft corals. The taxonomy of mycotrophic wildflowers is discussed in detail by Dr. Gary D. Wallace in the Wasmann Journal Of Biology Volume 33, 1975.
Coral-root orchid (Corallorhiza maculata), an interesting mycotrophic wildflower that grows in the shady conifer forests of San Diego County. The stem develops from a fleshy mass of fungal hyphae and tree roots deep in the ground, and resembles a clump of soft corals. As with most orchids, the germinated seed of this species starts out in a mycorrhizal relationship with a compatible soil fungus. It continues this symbiotic relationship with a fungus throughout its entire life. Since it is heterotrophic and nonphotosynthetic, it absorbs carbohydrates and minerals from its fungal partner, which in turn absorbs these vital nutrients from the roots of nearby trees.
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Microscopic view of the seed of a coral-root orcid (Corallorhiza maculata). The individual seed is only about 0.2 mm in diameter. In fact, there are unusual bacterial cells that are larger than this orchid seed. The resolving power for an unaided human eye with 20-20 vision is just under 0.1 mm. With its cellular sheath (seed coat) removed, this seed is barely visible to the naked eye. Certain epiphytic orchids of the tropical rain forest produce the world's smallest seeds weighing only one 35 millionths of an ounce (1/35,000,000) or 0.81 micrograms. Some seeds are only about 1/300th of an inch long (85 micrometers). One seed capsule from a single flower may contain up to four million seeds. They are dispersed into the air like minute dust particles or single-celled spores, eventually coming to rest in the upper canopy of rain forest trees. The seeds of some species are no larger than fungal spores and occur in a loose cellular sheath. Since the seeds have no endosperm and a minute, undifferentiated embryo, there are practically no food reserves. In order to germinate under natural conditions, they must establish a symbiotic relationship with a compatible mycorrhizal soil fungus. During early stages of development, the fungus supplies critical nutrients to the orchid seedling. Later the orchid may become fully independent, or it may retain its mycorrhizal relationship throughout its life. The above coral-root orchid seed (Corallorhiza) grows into a nonphotosynthetic mycotrophic wildflower that is completely dependent on its mycorrhizal fungus. Throughout its life, the orchid absorbs carbohydrates and minerals from its fungal partner, which in turn absorbs these vital nutrients from the roots of nearby forest trees. In a laboratory, orchid seeds can be grown in nutrient agar, like a sterile (axenic) culture of bacteria or fungal spores.
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The seed pod (capsule) of an unknown orchid containing many thousands of minute seeds. Each seed is enclosed in a cellular sheath (seed coat) resembling a short, silky hair. The seeds are dispersed into the wind like dust particles. In nature, the probability of an orchid seed finding a suitable place for germination and a compatible fungal partner are unlikely, so millions of seeds are released to increase the odds.
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Candystick (Allotropa virgata), a striking mycotrophic wildflower that looks more like a peppermint stick than a flowering plant. It occasionally appears in thick humus, in the shady understory of mature coniferous forests.
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Candystick (Allotropa virgata), a striking mycotrophic wildflower that looks more like a peppermint stick than a flowering plant. It occasionally appears in thick humus, in the shady understory of mature coniferous forests.
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But of all the fungus flowers, the snow plant is one of the truly spectacular wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada and Peninsular Ranges of California. It was reportedly one of the favorites of legendary naturalist John Muir. Resembling a thick, fleshy, brilliant red asparagus pushing out of the pine needles (duff layer), it is an unmistakable blossom. Although snow plants occur in the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains to the north and the Sierra San Pedro Martir to the south, they apparently skip San Diego County (the home of WAYNE'S WORD). For this reason they are conveniently called "negative disjuncts." Snow plant sitings have been reported from the Cuyamaca Mountains, but no voucher specimens are on file at the San Diego Museum of Natural History; hence, the official residency status of this remarkable wildflower in San Diego County remains an enigma.
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A snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea), one of the truly beautiful wildflowers of the Pacific United States. Like a fungus, it lacks chlorophyll and is nonphotosynthetic.
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Snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea), showing a fleshy, scaly flower stalk developing from a large, fleshy mass containing mycorrhizal fungal mycelia and tree roots.
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Some of these fungus flowers are rare in nature and only appear after ideal weather conditions. It is quite possible that one might turn up in your favorite forested part of the world.
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