Photo by NC Orchid licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

North America's terrestrial orchids seem to have mastered the disappearing act. When stressed, these plants can enter into a vegetative dormancy, existing entirely underground for years until the right conditions return for them to grow and bloom. Cryptic dormancy periods like this can make assessing populations quite difficult. Orchids that were happy and flowering one year can be gone the next... and the next... and the next...

How and why this dormancy is triggered has confused ecologists and botanists alike. Certainly stress is a factor but what else triggers the plant into going dormant? According to a recent paper published in the American Journal of Botany, the answer is fungal.

Orchids are the poster children for mycorrhizal symbioses. Every aspect of an orchid's life is dependent on these fungal interactions. Despite our knowledge of the importance of mycorrhizal presence in orchid biology, no one had looked at how the abundance of mycorrhizal fungi influenced the life history of these charismatic plants until now.

By observing the presence and abundance of a family of orchid associated fungi known as Russulaceae, researchers found that the abundance of mycorrhizal fungi in the environment is directly related to whether or not an orchid will emerge. The team focused on a species of orchid known commonly as the small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides). Populations of this federally threatened orchid are quite variable and assessing their numbers is difficult.

The team found that the abundance of mycorrhizal fungi is not only related to prior emergence of these plants but could also be used as a predictor of future emergence. This has major implications for orchid conservation overall. It's not enough to simply protect orchids, we must also protect the fungal communities they associate with.

Research like this highlights the need for a holistic habitat approach to conservation issues. So many species are partners in symbiotic relationships and we simply can't value one partner over the other. If conditions change to the point that they no longer favor the mycorrhizal partner, it stands to reason that it would only be a matter of years before the orchids disappeared for good.

Photo Credit: NC Orchid