How mycorrhizal fungi connect
Chapter 1

The underground fungal network

Chapter 2

Airborne chemical distress signals

Chapter 3

Whispers through roots and electricity

Chapter 4

The dark side of plant gossip

YOUR GOAL

Master of How plants talk

Ch 1 · The underground fungal network
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artiteacher The discovery of the web

Jul 10

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artiteacher The underground fungal network

Hey, we're sending all our secrets through the threads underground!

Jul 10

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artiteacher How mycorrhizal fungi connect

Jul 10

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The currency of the forest

artiteacher Trees trade surplus sugars for essential soil nutrients provided by their fungal partners in a complex underground marketplace.

Jul 10

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How mycorrhizal fungi connect

artiteacher Tiny underground fungal threads called hyphae plug directly into plant roots to form a massive, cooperative network.

Jul 10

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Root Whispers
BETA

artiteacher Decode underground chemical signals to discover how trees talk to each other.

Jul 7

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Fun Fact

Fungal internet: The underground fungal network, often called the wood-wide web, connects up to 90 percent of all land plants on Earth.

Jul 10

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Glossary
mycorrhiza (noun)
A symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant. In 1997, Suzanne Simard showed that trees share carbon using these subterranean fungal pathways.

Jul 10

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Gossip

Would you rather be a mother tree or a helper fungus?

Jul 10

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Quiz

Which trees act as the central hubs of the underground fungal network?

Jul 10

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artiteacher The currency of the forest

Jul 10

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Quiz

For how many millions of years have plants and mycorrhizal fungi partnered?

Jul 10

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artiteacher Mother trees as central hubs

Jul 10

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Quiz

What percentage of land plants are estimated to be connected to mycorrhizal networks?

Jul 10

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Quiz

What are the individual, microscopic threads of a fungus called?

Jul 10

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Quiz

Which scientist proved in 1997 that Douglas fir and paper birch trees share carbon underground?

Jul 10

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Quiz

What primary resource does the fungal network help distribute to seedlings in deep shade?

Jul 10

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Quiz

In which Canadian province did Suzanne Simard conduct her famous 1997 forest experiments?

Jul 10

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Quiz

What do plants provide to fungi in exchange for soil nutrients?

Jul 10