Underestimated: Fungi as food source for plants

The number of plant species that extract organic nutrients from fungi could be much higher than previously assumed. This was discovered by researchers from the BayCEER Laboratory of Isotope Biogeochemistry and the University of Copenhagen through isotope investigations on Paris quadrifolia, otherwise known as Herb Paris or True Lover’s Knot. This forest-floor plant, which is widespread in Europe, is regarded in botany as a prototype for plants that have a specific exchange relationship with fungi, which in fact accounts for around 40 percent of all plant species. In "The New Phytologist” journal, the scientists report on their surprising results.