Most orchid species have a symbiotic relationship with the natural fungi found in their roots. The plants provide the fungi ...

Beneath the deep shade of the boreal conifers, the forest floor is cold, dark, and damp. The ground cover varies from bare patches of partially decayed conifer needles and debris to a profusion of ...

By: Karina V. R. Schäfer (Rutgers University Newark, NJ) & Dirk W. Vanderklein (Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ) © 2011 Nature Education All plant growth ...

As you can see, not much light can penetrate through the canopy. On the forest floor only a few herbaceous plants can grow and survive the low light conditions - like mosses, lichen and ferns.

Some of the plants are potentially new to science, including a tiny white ground orchid found by Orsenigo that stands a few centimeters above the forest floor. The orchids are thought to be a ...