Flower Plants
Flower Plants
THE SNOW PLANTS OF CALIFORNIA (cont)plants' roots have adapted to a curious relationship. They have no root hairs--the tiny structures that absorb nutrients for most plants. Perhaps root hairs are not efficient enough to absorb all the food a saprophyte needs. Instead, their roots are covered by a sheath of fungus that grows down betreen the outer cells of the roots--never deeper than the first layer, and never actually into the cells. The fungi absorb nourishment from the soil, and the snow plants absorb their food from the fungi. What the fungi get out of the bargain isn't clear. Why don't they just set up shop on their own? Snow plants cannot support fungi alone, so the fungi rely on the snow plants for moisture through much of the year. The seeds of snow plants ripen in August after the flowers and stalks are faded. Like the seeds of many other saprophytes, the snow plant seeds are very small (less than a millimeter long), and (Page FIVE of SEVEN)