Desert mosses host fungi inside their leaves to survive
While most plants use fungi in their roots to gather nutrients, rootless mosses have been found harboring these partners directly inside their leaf cells.
In the harshest corners of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, the ground is covered by a living skin known as biological soil crust. This miniature ecosystem of mosses, bacteria, and algae stabilizes the landscape against erosion and intense heat. While scientists long believed that the 10,000 known species of moss lived independently, new evidence shows that desert mosses harbor specialized fungi within their own tissues to endure extreme dehydration.
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