In Asian woodlands, strange plants can be spotted poking out from under leaves and debris on the forest floor. These plants do not have green leaves and do not perform photosynthesis like most. Instead, they obtain nutrients from fungi, normally considered helpful to plants, in a symbiotic relationship known as mycorrhizae. This relationship connects most plants in the forest in a "wood wide web," according to The Conversation.
Monotropastrum humile is a plant found in many parts of East and Southeast Asia, ranging from the Himalayas to Japan. It was previously thought to be a single species, but researchers from Japan and Taiwan have identified a new, distinct species called Monotropastrum kirishimense, which has pink coloration.
Photosynthesis Incapable
The "wood wide web," a network of fungi and plant roots that spans entire forests, acts as a system for distributing nutrients and transmitting information between plants through electrical and chemical signals. This connection helps to strengthen the forest ecosystem by distributing resources and aiding in communication between plants. It also allows plants to alert each other of potential threats and helps to protect them from drought.
Monotropastrum is a plant species that do not perform photosynthesis like most plants. Instead, it obtains all of its nutrients from fungi in a process known as mycoheterotrophy. Most plants have a mutualistic relationship with fungi, where the fungi provide nutrients to the plant in exchange for hydrocarbons produced through photosynthesis. However, Monotropastrum does not offer any photosynthetic products to the fungi in return for the nutrients it receives, breaking the mutualistic relationship and instead obtaining all of its nutrients through theft.
The newly discovered species of Monotropastrum, called M. kirishimense, has several distinct features that set it apart from its cousin, M. humile. The most notable difference is the presence of pink petals and sepals. M. kirishimense also has roots that barely protrude from the soil and is more closely associated with one type of mycorrhizae fungus called Russula. At the same time, M. humile prefers a different type of fungus.
The new species (top) and M. humile (bottom).
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Blooming Species
Additionally, M. kirishimense and M. humile have different flowering seasons, with M. kirishimense blooming 40 days after M. humile. This difference in the timing of their flowering is known as phenology. The researchers concluded that M. kirishimense is distinct from M. humile in terms of its morphology, phenology, phylogeny, and ecology and, therefore, should be recognized as a separate species.
The discovery of this new species was published in the Journal of Plant Research. They also suggest that a shift in M. kirishimense towards a specific type of Russula fungus may have played a role in developing the new species. The fact that M. kirishimense and M. humile have different flowering seasons helps to prevent hybridization between the two species since their primary pollinator, the bumblebee Bombus diversus, will not be able to transfer pollen between them.
Both Monotropastrum species are found in old-growth forests and are therefore vulnerable to extinction due to the threats facing these forests. M. kirishimense is considered to be rare and may be endangered.
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