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Biodiversity > BCERN
> CDE & DDE
> Glossary > Morphology of Ectomycorrhizal
System
Morphology of Ectomycorrhizal System (Dissection Microscope)
An ectomycorrhizal system has a continuous mantle and is usually branched.
Branching
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| monopodial pinnate: a mycorrhizal
system with an axis from which branches originate that are
shorter than the axis and lie more or less in one plane |
monopodial pyramidal: like monopodial
pinnate, but the branches lie in 3 or more planes |
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| dichotomous: the root meristem
divides in two branches that grow to similar lengths and
may divide and grow repeatedly |
tuberculate: very densely branched
and enveloped by a dense mat of hyphae (the rind); shaped
like a small potato; individual tips are seen if the rind
is removed or the tubercle is cut |
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| irregular: without a main axis
or regular dichotomies |
not branched: simple, unbranched
mycorrhizae |
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| coralloid: very densely branched,
resembling coral |
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Tip shape
A tip of an ectomycorrhiza is a distal unbranched section (see Dimensions-Length
of tips, b, below). Axes are parts of ectomycorrhizal systems other than tips.
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| straight: linear, smooth sided |
beaded: like a string of beads |
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| club-shaped: wider at apices than
at bases |
tortuous: tips bent or curved several
times, most tips not in one plane |
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| bent: curved or kinked, each tip
lies in one plane |
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Dimensions
Dimensions are given as means and range, e.g. 0.45 (0.30-0.75)mm.
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a = Length of System (mm)
b = Length of Tips (mm)
c = Width of Tips (mm)
d = Width of main Axis (mm)
e = Width of tip Base (mm) |
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Texture
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| smooth: with little or no texture
and few or no emanating hyphae |
grainy: with small papillae or
grains, like fine or medium grained sandpaper |
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| felty: with appressed hyphae or
hyphal strands, like coarsely felted wool |
velvety: like velvet cloth, caused
by short emanating hyphae |
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| warty: with tubercles or warts,
like coarse sandpaper |
wooly: with copious thick emanating
hyphae and hyphal strands |
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| cottony: with copious thin emanating
hyphae, individual hyphae not distinct |
stringy: with small hyphal strands
on surface |
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| spiny: with conspicuous stiff cystidia
that are either short (<1/4 of tip diam.) or long |
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Lustre
- matte: surface of ectomycorrhiza is neither shiny nor reflective
- shiny: lustrous, especially if obliquely lit
- reflective: Light is reflected by many air bubbles trapped in surface hyphae,
often in a mantle of loosely woven hyphae, gleaming or brilliant. Reflectivity
is lost when the trapped air is replaced by water during storage, by various
chemicals, or by touching.
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