Mycorrhizae are specialized soil fungi that form symbiotic relationships with the roots of most woody plants. The fungi are important in the uptake of water and nutrients. One group of mycorrhizal fungi are angiocarpic---that is, the fruiting body does not open---and are commonly called truffle-like fungi. From an ecological perspective, this is an especially important group of organisms throughout the forests of the world, but they a relatively poorly known. This is especially true for the forests of the southern hemisphere. A joint venture that involves scientists from the forestry programs of C.S.I.R.O. in Australia and American mycologists from Oregon State University will conduct extensive surveys of the Australasian rainforests for truffle-like fungi. It is certain that the collecting team will discover numerous new species, genera, and even families. These forests are being rapidly logged, thereby potentially eliminating many of the endemic mycorrhizae before their ecological and economic utility can be explored. This research should make those materials available to the scientific community at large.
