Abstract
Corticium solani (Prill. and Delacr.) Bourd and Galz, the soil-inhabiting basidiomycete which attacks a wide range of hosts, has been isolated repeatedly by me in sterile mycelial form (Rhizoctonia solani) from the roots of the marsh orchid, Orchis purpurella T. and T. A. Steph. Germination tests with the seed of the orchid show that the mycelium of R. solani, so isolated, acts as a symbiont stimulating the growth of the embryos. Typical pelotons form within the orchid cells, and later digestion of the hyphæ takes place. Thus the fungus conforms to the normal conditions of an orchid endophyte.
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References
Garrett, S. D., New Phytol., 50, 149 (1951).
Blair, I. D., Ann. App. Biol., 30, 118 (1943).
Chesters, C. G., Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc., 32, 197 (1948).
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DOWNIE, D. Corticium solani—an Orchid Endophyte. Nature 179, 160 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/179160a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/179160a0
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