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of the fungi called endomycorrhizae live within the cells of the
roots of certain gymnosperms, especially conifers.
Endomycorrhizal fungi are apparently parasitic, but not
destructively so. In cycads, blue-green algae grow in nodules in
the roots. These roots may grow opposite to the force of gravity
and may form corallike masses on the ground surface, hence the
term “coralloid... ...(hyphae) intermingle with them to form
mycorrhizae. There are two distinct types of mycorrhizal
associations among the conifers. The majority of species have
vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae, called endomycorrhizae because
the fungal hyphae actually penetrate the cells of the roots. All
of the Pinaceae, and only the Pinaceae, have the other kind of
root symbiosis, called ectomycorrhizal because... ...of certain
plants ( e.g., citrus, orchids, pines)