Mycorrhizal Status of Gunnera petaloidea in Hawai'i

Abstract

Eight collections of the endemic Hawaiian angiosperm Gunnera petaloidea ssp. kauaiensis were examined for mycorrhizae. Soil-inhabiting roots of all specimens possessed extensive vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae 01AM). Aerial roots lacked mycorrhizae. Soil from the root zones of the plants contained propagules of VAM fungi, and spores of two species of VAM fungi were found in the soil. The discovery of mycorrhizae in Gunnera adds another symbiont to the Gunnera-Nostoc symbiosis.