Fun fact
Orchid seeds are empty; they survive by digesting unsuspecting soil fungi.
Chapter 1
Visual tricksters of the meadow
Chapter 2
Perfume traps and chemical forgery
Chapter 3
The dark side of food fraud
Chapter 4
Underground alliances and fungal friendships
YOUR GOAL
Master of The secret world of orchids
Ch 4 · Underground alliances and fungal friendships
artiteacher Underground alliances and fungal friendships
I'm a microscopic seed with no food at all, but the mycelium feeds me through the dark.
suaz Sunlight strikes green orchid leaves while roots pump sugars to underground fungal networks.
artiteacher Young orchids trick soil fungi into feeding them before they can photosynthesize.
Fun Fact
Million-seed club: A single orchid seed pod can contain up to 4 million individual seeds, the most of any plant group.
Glossary
mycorrhiza (noun)
A symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant. German botanist Albert Frank coined the term in 1885, explaining how orchid seeds obtain fungal nutrients.
A symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant. German botanist Albert Frank coined the term in 1885, explaining how orchid seeds obtain fungal nutrients.
Quiz
What does a green orchid eventually do for its fungal partner once it grows leaves?
artiteacher Parasitic ghost orchids live entirely underground, stealing energy from fungi their whole lives.
