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Illustration of tree roots and fungi forming a mycorrhizal network in the soil. A mycorrhiza is an association between a soil fungus and the roots of a vascular plant. The majority of vascular plant roots are mycorrhizal and both organisms benefit from this association. Mycorrhizal networks extend to other plants in the area and facilitate the transfer or water, nutrients and signalling compounds between plants. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/NICOLLE R. FULLER)