MYCORRHIZAL ASSESSMENT OF VASCULAR PLANTS FROM SUB-ANTARCTIC MACQUARIE ISLAND

Roots of 40 taxa of vascular plants from subantarctic Macquarie Island were examined to determine their mycorrhizal status. Samples comprise d 36 flowering plant taxa (Spermatophyta) from 16 families, and 4 nonf lowering plant taxa (Pteridophyta) from 4 families. No arbutoid, erico id, or ectomycorrhizae were observed, nor did we collect the fruiting bodies of any fungi whose presence would indicate or suggest the prese nce of ectomycorrhizal associations. Fifteen of the plants examined sh owed vesicles, but vesicles and arbuscles were observed in only three plants: Hydrocotyle novae-zeelandiae (Apiaceae), Pleurophyllum hookeri (Asteraceae), and Acaena magellanica (Rosaceae). Dark septate fungi w ere observed in the roots of 21 plant species. The one species of orch id found on the island, Corybas dienemus, showed typical orchid mycorr hizae.