bio

Arbuscular mycorrhiza

The most ancient and common type of mycorrhiza, formed with about 80% of plant species. Its signature: the fungal threads push right through the root's cell walls and balloon out inside into densely branched, tree-shaped structures called arbuscules. These arbuscules are the trading desks — vast folded surfaces where the plant's carbon is exchanged for the fungus's phosphorus. In effect, the fungus lives inside the plant's own cells.