MONOTROPA UNIFLORA: ULTRASTRUCTURAL DETAILS OF ITS MYCORRHIZAL HABIT

A microscopic survey of the achlorophylus plant Monotropa uniflora L. reveals an ectendotrophic mycorrhizal fungus with dolipore septa associated with the roots. Special transfer regions are found in the root cell wall ensheathing all but the ruptured tip of the fungal intrusion. MONO)TROPA HAS long fascinated biologists because its waxy white appearance indicates that it is unusual among flowering plants. Its absence of chlorophyll (less than 0.001 mg per gram fresh weight) and therefore its inability to produce metabolic materials by the photosynthetic fixation of CO2 has led many experimenters to investigate the mysteries of its rather novel existence. The historical details as well as the descriptive and physiological literature has been admirably re