Four species from the family Amaranthaceae were studied to determine b
order cell production and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. It was
found that border cells, also known as sloughed root cap cells, are pr
oduced by all plant species studied and increase with increasing root
length until a maximum number is reached at a root length of 25 mm. Ho
wever, the increase in border cells with increasing root length is not
uniform between species. Arbuscular mycorrhizal root colonization was
found in all the Amaranthaceae species, and arbuscular mycorrhizal co
lonization was positively correlated with maximum border cell producti
on.