Mycorrhizae in Hawaiian Epiphytes

Abstract

In surveys in the Hawaiian Islands, mycorrhizae occurred frequently in epiphytic, nonorchidaceous angiosperms and pteridophytes. Both vesicular-arbuscular (VA) and ericoid mycorrhizae were present in epiphytes growing 1-3 m above the forest floor on dead and living tree trunks and on living tree ferns in montane wet forest sites. All eight angiosperm species were mycorrhizal, and 13 of 22 pteridophytes possessed VA mycorrhizae. The high frequency of mycorrhizae in epiphytic species suggests that propagules of mycorrhizal fungi routinely are dispersed to these microsites. Possible means of dispersal are discussed.