Meaning & use
mycorrhizal
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalbiology
Relating to a close partnership between a fungus and the roots of a plant.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: mycorrhizal fungi, mycorrhizal association.
Patterns
- mycorrhizal fungi
- mycorrhizal association
- mycorrhizal network
Most trees in the forest depend on mycorrhizal fungi to absorb water and minerals.
The researchers studied the mycorrhizal network that links roots underground.
Healthy soil often contains a rich variety of mycorrhizal organisms.
Common combinations
- mycorrhizal fungi
- Mycorrhizal fungi help plants take in nutrients from the soil.
- mycorrhizal association
- The mycorrhizal association benefits both the plant and the fungus.
- mycorrhizal network
- Trees can share resources through a mycorrhizal network.
Word family
- mycorrhiza noun
- The partnership itself between a fungus and a plant root.
Commonly confused: mycorrhizal or mycelial?
mycorrhizal vs mycelial
Refers to the thread-like body of a fungus, not to its partnership with plant roots.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'mycorrhizal' correctly.
Choose one answer.
'Mycorrhizal' is an adjective describing a fungus-root partnership, so it fits before 'fungi'. The other options use it as a feeling, a noun, or a verb, which is incorrect.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mycorrhizal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.