For centuries, fungi were widely held to be harmful to plants, parasites that cause disease and dysfunction. More recently, it has become understood that certain kinds of common fungi exist in subtle symbiosis with plants, bringing about not infection but connection. These fungi send out gossamer-fine fungal tubes called hyphae, which infiltrate the soil and weave into the tips of plant roots at a cellular level. Roots and fungi combine to form what is called a mycorrhiza: itself a growing-together of the Greek words for fungus (mykós) and root (riza). In this way, individual plants are joined to one another by an underground hyphal network: a dazzlingly complex and collaborative structure that has become known as the Wood Wide Web.
Recent scientific revelations raise big questions about what trading, sharing, or even friendship might mean among plants. Illustration by Enzo Pérès-Labourdette. Image sourced from The New Yorker. Available at: https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5909787d8b51cf59fc423627/master/w_1280,c_limit/Macfarlane-AWalkingTouroftheWoodWideWeb1.jpg