mycorrhiza

American  

[mahy-kuh-rahy-zuh] / ˌmaɪ kəˈraɪ zə /

Or mycorhiza

noun

Plant Pathology.

plural

mycorrhizae, mycorrhizas

1. a symbiotic association of the mycelium of a fungus, especially a basidiomycete, with the roots of certain plants, in which the hyphae form a closely woven mass around the rootlets or penetrate the cells of the root.

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mycorrhiza British  

/ ˌmaɪkəˈraɪzə /

noun

1. an association of a fungus and a plant in which the fungus lives within or on the outside of the plant's roots forming a symbiotic or parasitic relationship See ectotrophic mycorrhiza endotrophic mycorrhiza

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mycorrhiza Scientific  

/ mī′kə-rī′zə /

1. The symbiotic association of the mycelium of a fungus with the roots of plants. The majority of vascular plants have mycorrhizae. The fungus assists in the absorption of minerals and water from the soil and defends the roots from other fungi and nematodes, while the plant provides carbohydrates to the fungus. There are two kinds of mycorrhizae: endomycorrhizae, in which the fungal hyphae enter the cells of the root cortex, and ectomycorrhizae, in which they surround the cells.

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Other Word Forms

• mycorhizal adjective
• mycorrhizal adjective

Etymology

Origin of mycorrhiza

First recorded in 1890–95; myco- + -rrhiza

Example Sentences

For centuries, Europeans have hunted truffles with trained dogs, selling the pricey nuggets through a cryptic but robust network of traders that mirrors the underground networks of mycorrhiza.

From Washington Post • Dec. 1, 2021

And perhaps more important, as plants pull carbon from the air, their roots inject some of it into the soil, feeding microorganisms and fungi called mycorrhiza.

From New York Times • Apr. 18, 2018

In a second type, the Glomeromycota fungi form arbuscular mycorrhiza.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

In these mycorrhiza, the fungi form arbuscles, a specialized highly branched hypha, which penetrate root cells and are the sites of the metabolic exchanges between the fungus and the host plant.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

In this latter case, which is often realised—e.g. lichens, leguminous plants and the organisms in their root-nodules, mycorrhiza, etc.—we leave the domain of disease, which supervenes indeed if the other symbiont is lacking.

From Disease in Plants by Ward, H. Marshall