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Mycelium is an important food source for many soil invertebrates. They are vital to agriculture and are important to almost all species of plants, many species co-evolving with the fungi. Mycelium is a primary factor in some plants' health, nutrient intake and growth, with mycelium being a major factor to plant fitness.
Cords may look similar to plant roots, and also frequently have similar functions; hence they are also called rhizomorphs (literally, "root-forms"). As well as growing underground or on the surface of trees and other plants, some fungi make mycelial cords which hang in the air from vegetation.
The epidermis is the main component of the dermal tissue system of leaves (diagrammed below), and also stems, roots, flowers, fruits, and seeds; it is usually transparent (epidermal cells have fewer chloroplasts or lack them completely, except for the guard cells.) The cells of the epidermis are structurally and functionally variable.
The loosely packed cells of root cortex allow movement of water and oxygen in the intercellular spaces. [4] One of the main functions of the root cortex is to serve as a storage area for reserve foods. [4] The innermost layer of the cortex in the roots of vascular plants is the endodermis. The endodermis is responsible for storing starch as ...
Primary – root that develop from the radicle of the embryo, and is normally the first root to emerge from the seed as it germinates. Root Hairs – very small roots, often one cell wide, that do most of the water and nutrient absorption. Secondary – roots forming off of the primary root; often called branch roots.
Some skin secretions are associated with body hair. Skin secretions originate from glands that in dermal layer of the epidermis. Sweat, a physiological aid to body temperature regulation, is secreted by eccrine glands. Sebaceous glands secrete the skin lubricant sebum. Sebum is secreted onto the hair shaft and it prevents the hair from splitting.
White threads of fungal mycelium are sometimes visible underneath leaf litter in a forest floor. A mycorrhizal network (also known as a common mycorrhizal network or CMN) is an underground network found in forests and other plant communities, created by the hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi joining with plant roots. This network connects individual ...
Ectomycorrhizal extramatrical mycelium greatly increases the soil area available for exploitation by plant hosts by funneling water and nutrients to ectomycorrhizas, complex fungal organs on the tips of plant roots. Hyphae are found enveloping the gonidia in lichens, making up a large part of their structure. In nematode-trapping fungi, hyphae ...