Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and palms.

[Alberto]

The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are benefitial phungi that infects and live in, on and outside the roots of lots if not most of plants. They help with the intake of water, phosphorus, specially where this nutrient exists in very low concentrations or not dissolved forms and also makes plants more resistant to some diseases. They arre ubiquitous establishing symbiosis with a large number of plants. Some genus are Glomus, Acaulospora, Scutellospora, Gigaspora, Entrophospora, etc with lots of different species also. Coconuts are an example of palms that can survive and thrive, in the poorest kind of soil that is beach sand, but only with the help of the invisible mycorrizal fungi. Without this phungi Cocos nucifera would die of hunger in a short time. I have seen other palms growing in very poor soil and conditions, like the Syagrus glaucescecens in the region of Diamantina. Healthy specimens growing on pure rock., maybe with one or another deeper taproot, but overall in my eyes a very ''poor location'' to grow a palm. In the La Campana Park in Chile we found a dwarfish Jubaea chilensis growing on and in rock. I cannot imagine how it could survive and produce so much biomass without apparent soil. I only can speculate it was helped by some specific mycorrizae. 

[Alberto]

Another pic

[Alberto]

Walking through the park, I din´t see any sandstone rocks. This  where of a harder kind of rocks. We found lots of fragments of quartz, probably from old mines. I found on internet that the rocks of La Campana are of vulcanic origin - gabbro [chemically equivalent to basalt] and granodiorite rock.

The roots of this ''bonsai'' Jubaea were deeply anchored in the rock, and probably taproots found water etc. One thing is for sure, Jubaeas are tough !

[Gonzer]

Fascinating, thanks Alberto.

 

[Jimhardy]

Yeah...thats a great palm growing out

of the rock like that's amazing how

life adapts to keep going.