Among recent plant discoveries was a newly recognized plant lineage that lacks photosynthesis and depends entirely on fungi for nutrition. This new plant family, Afrothismiaceae, is made up of rare African forest plants that fully depend on fungi for nutrition instead of photosynthesis.
These leafless plants are so unusual that they only emerge above ground to flower and fruit, and DNA evidence showed they belong in their own family rather than the previously assumed Thismiaceae.
Such discoveries are important because they reveal alternative evolutionary pathways that challenge our assumptions about what a plant can be. They also highlight the deep interconnectedness of plant and fungal life.
Gratitude to the researchers uncovering these hidden ecological partnerships.
Reference: Afrothismiaceae (Dioscoreales), a new fully mycoheterotrophic family endemic to tropical Africa. Cheek et al. Volume 79, pages 55–73, (2024)