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Story: Fungi

Fungal nodules on tōtara roots

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Fungal nodules on tōtara roots

Nodules on the roots of tōtara trees are colonised by fungi, which help trees take up soil nutrients. Most of the common forest trees and ferns in New Zealand have some sort of association between their roots and the hyphae (spreading filaments) of fungi. This is known as a mycorrhizal relationship.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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How to cite this page

Peter Buchanan, Fungi – Mycorrhizal fungi, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/11578/fungal-nodules-on-totara-roots (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Peter Buchanan, published 1 March 2009.