The Mycorrhizal Status of Selected Plant Species from Connecticut Wetlands and Transition Zones

Vesicular‐arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were investigated in the roots of flowering plants and ferns obtained from a variety of Connecticut freshwater wetland habitats. We sampled 290 plants from 89 species of 75 genera disposed among 42 families of flowering plants. All species of mature plants as well as selected young plants on developing shorelines were colonized by mycorrhizal fungi, suggesting that this phenomenon is common in the development of vegetation associated with fluctuating water, nutrient, and oxygen conditions. The purpose of this report is to make soil conservationists, wetland agents, and others concerned with wetlands aware of this relationship as they select plants for use in restoration, and to point out the widespread nature of the endomycorrhizal phenomenon.