Plants, Nutrients and Australian Soils

Ectomycorrhizae are common on temperate tree species such as eucalypts and pines. While the mantle of fungal hyphae suppresses the development of root hairs it can greatly extend the life of the root (from weeks to many months) and may play a role in protecting the root from invasion by pathogenic bacteria and fungi.

The fungi that form ectomycorrhizae can be either basidiomycetes or ascomycetes and as with other mycorrhizal types, several species of fungi may form an association with a species of plant (or with an individual!).