July 24, 2011 The photo above shows a lovely group of mushrooms
nestled against the trunk of a eucalyptus tree. The association
between the fungi and the tree however is no accident. This is a
mutualistic relationship, where the two species assist each
other, and in fact probably would be poorer without each other.
Mutualism is any relationship between two species of organisms
that benefits both species. Up to a quarter of the mushrooms you
see while walking through the woods actually make their living
through a mutualistic relationship with the trees in the forest.
Remember of course that the mushroom is just the reproductive
structure of a far more extensive organism consisting of a
highly intertwined mass of fine white threads called a mycelium.
The word mycorrhiza is derived from the Classical Greek words
for "mushroom" and "root." In a mycorrhizal association, the
fungal hyphae of an underground mycelium are in contact with
plant roots but without the fungus parasitizing the plant. While
it's clear that