These early alliances evolved into what we now call mycorrhizal relationships. Today, more than 90 per cent of all plant species depend on mycorrhizal fungi. They are the rule, not the exception: a more fundamental part of planthood than fruit, flowers, leaves, wood or even roots. Out of this intimate partnership – complete with co-operation, conflict and competition – plants and mycorrhizal fungi enact a collective flourishing that underpins our past, present and future. We are unthinkable without them, yet seldom do we think about them. The cost of our neglect has never been more apparent.
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