7.9 Helping Each Other

A 1997 article in Nature reported a discovery that changed our understanding of plant-fungus relationships. We already knew that most plants form symbiosis with soil fungi — called mycorrhizae — exchanging nutrients beneficial to both.

But fungal filaments (hyphae) can connect multiple plant species, forming a potential network.

This research demonstrated such a network in nature: radioactive tracers moved from birch (Betula papyrifera) to Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) — and vice versa. The flow direction depended on season or plant health. Non-compatible plants did not receive anything — confirming the exchange occurred through the fungal network.

So — do plants help each other through fungi?

Is this extraordinary behaviour evidence of intelligence — or an automatic biochemical mechanism?