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What is Mycorrhizae?

Mycorrhizal fungi and plants have a mutually beneficial relationship. Let’s take a look at how these “good fungi” help your plants grow stronger. Here are a few of the advantages the plant receives from mycorrhizal activity:

Increased resistance to drought.

Enhanced ability to absorb nutrients

Better stress resistance

Better seedling growth

Cuttings that form a strong root structure

Quick transplant establishment and growth

So what does the fungus get out of this relationship? The fungus can’t perform photosynthesis to make food from nutrients, so in exchange for nutrients that the fungus brings to the plant, the plant shares a little of the food it makes from the nutrients. Chances are you’ve seen mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. You may have mistaken them for roots because they often appear as long, thin, white threads entangled among the plant’s true roots.

A plant would soon exhaust its small area of surrounding soil of nutrients, but with the help of mycorrhizal fungi, plants benefit from nutrients and moisture found further from home. In addition, they produce glomalin, a glycoprotein that helps stabilize the soil. Not all plants respond to mycorrhizae. Vegetable gardeners will notice that their corn and tomatoes thrive when there are mycorrhizal fungi in the soil, while leafy greens, especially members of the brassicas family, show no response. Spinach and beets also resist mycorrhizal fungi. In the soil where these resistant plants grow, the Mycorrhizal Fungi eventually die out.

Now that you know what mycorrhizal fungi can do for your garden, you’re probably wondering how to introduce them into your soil. The good news is that unless you are using sterile potting soil, you probably have some. Commercial mycorrhizal amendments are available, and they can help potting soil develop the amendments, but they aren’t necessary for the landscape.

Here's More in detail and with a perfect explanation about the Mycorrhizae Fungi :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v88gbtKBTv4

~ Shlok Kulkarni , Roll no : 26

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Indian pipe, also known as ghost plant or ghost pipe is a perennial, saprophytic plant native to temperate regions of Asia, North America, and northern South America. It's scientific name is Monotropa Uniflora

Nutrition- The plant has a saprophytic nutrition as it lacks chlorophyll and is non-photosynthetic. It releases digestive juices on dead decaying matter and digests the nutrients. It also uses symbiosis with a fungus named mycorrhizal fungi.These fungi form a beneficial partnership called mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Habitat- Indian pipe is found in dark, shady woods with rich, moist soil and plenty of decaying leaves and other plant matter.

Uses- Whole Plant Can be cooked. It is tasteless if eaten raw, but has a taste like asparagus when it is cooked. It is also used for managing neuronal disorders like psychosis, acute anxiety, nervousness etc.

Mohammad Hamiz Khan, Roll no. 24

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The name coralroot refers to the roots of this plant, which are said to resemble coral - not that they have dug one up to prove the point. The plants of Coralroot Orchid are not always as colourful . Where they occur in dark woodland and forests these little orchids are often fawn, and that makes them extremely hard to find among dense conifer needles on the forest floor.

Although always growing close to trees, Coralroot Orchids sometimes occur in large numbers on the edges of paths and on roadside verges . The plant stems are brownish-green and the flowers have green sepals and petals with a paler lip sometimes marked with red.

Despite being able to produce some chlorophyll (hence some plants are greenish, although many are purple-brown), this orchid is largely saprophytic, depending mainly for its food on the mycorrhizal fungi surrounding its roots. Coralroot is usually self-pollinating.

Preksha Vinesh  Roll No - 29

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Mushrooms are the advanced members of a fungi group belonging to the class Basidiomycetes. They grow on dead and decaying matters like dung, and old rotten logs which are rich in organic matter.

Mushrooms are saprophytes because they do not have chlorophyll, they live in dead and decaying organic matter and absorb their food.

The scientific name of the Mushroom is 'Agaricus bisporus'

Some Fun Facts:

Mushrooms are also called toadstools.

Mushrooms are made up of around 90% water.

The world's largest producer of edible mushrooms is China which produces about half of all cultivated mushrooms.

Traditional Chinese medicine has utilised the medicinal properties of mushrooms for centuries.

Uses of Mushrooms:
1. Reduces the risk of obesity and other diseases- Many chronic diseases like Diabetes, and cardiac diseases are proved to be cured by the intake of mushrooms.

2. Gears up the energy- Mushrooms are a good powerhouse of energy values which is equivalent to that of an apple.

3. Mushrooms are too tasty to eat and 20% of people eat mushrooms! Both Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian People eat Mushrooms!

Full A to Z Info about Mushrooms Link:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/mushrooms

- Soham Kulkarni, 7th Faith, Roll no. 27.

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Mucor is a type of Fungi, that is found everywhere. It can cause diseases particularly called mucormycosis that might affect the lungs, eyes, skin etc.

Habitat: Mucor lives in a habitat like organic soil, a dead decaying matter of fruits, vegetables and plants.

Some facts about Mucor are:-

Mucor is also called Bread mould.

Mucor grows on a variety of substrates like bread, jam, jellies, vegetables etc.

Mucor belongs to the class of Zygomycetes.

Mahi Kalambe Roll no-21

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Mushrooms

mushrooms are umbrella-like structures. Some, like button mushrooms (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes), are tasty and nutritious, and some, like fly agaric (Amanita mucaria), are toxic. They are present in different colours and shapes. Raw brown mushroom is rich in protein, vitamin D and other minerals.

Penicillin

Penicillin is a revolutionary saprophytic fungus in medicine which usually found on moulds. It’s effective on many bacterial infections. Therefore, it is known as Antibiotics. Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotics in 1928; later, he got the noble prize for his discovery. It saved many lives during World War II and is still widely used in pharma industries

Jai Kandekar
Roll No. 22

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Trametes versicolor – also known as Coriolus versicolor – is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Meaning 'of several colors', versicolor reliably describes this fungus that displays a variety of colors. For example, because its shape and multiple colors are similar to those of a wild Turkey, T. versicolor is commonly called turkey tail. A similar looking mushroom, commonly called false turkey tail, which is from a different order, may sometimes be confused with the turkey tail mushroom due to appearance. Another lookalike is the multicolor gill polypore.

Amanita phalloides , commonly known as the death cap, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Widely distributed across Europe, but now sprouting in other parts of the world, A. phalloides forms ectomycorrhizas with various broadleaved trees. In some cases, the death cap has been introduced to new regions with the cultivation of non-native species of oak, chestnut, and pine. The large fruiting bodies (mushroom) appear in summer and autumn; the caps are generally greenish in colour with a white stipe and gills. The cap colour is variable, including white forms, and is thus not a reliable identifier.

-Prithika Nadar