Mycorrhizal symbiosis of Sarcodes sanguinea

Abstract

An in vivo nutrient translocation study among four forest tree species and Sarcodes sanguinea, the snow plant, a mycorrhizal, achlorophyllous angiosperm. Injection of radioactive phosphorus into the tree's phloem was timed to coincide with the exponential phase of snow plant growth during which maximum nutrient mobilization is necessary. Significant isotope translocation occurred between each tree species and snow plants; other surrounding vegetation showed little uptake. Comparison of transport rates indicates that although common mycorrhizal components are shared by roots of snow plants and trees, rates supporting rapid snow plant growth occur only in Abies concolor and Pinus Jeffreyi. © 1981.