Associated fungi, symbiotic germination and in vitro seedling development of the rare Andean terrestrial orchid Chloraea riojana

SEBASTIÁN FRACCHIA; ARANDA-RICKERT ADRIANA; CAROLINA ROTHEN; SILVANA SEDE

FLORA

ELSEVIER GMBH

Año: 2016 vol. 224 p. 106 - 111

0367-2530

tChloraea riojana is a rare terrestrial orchid from the Andean region of Northwest Argentina. Here weevaluate the mycorrhizal status, symbiotic germination and protocorm development of the species.Plant material including capsules, roots and whole plant were collected from two natural populations.Symbiotic germination was tested using one fungal endophyte isolated from C. riojana and four fungalendophytes previously isolated from the sympatric orchid species Aa achalensis. Three isolates were ableto promote seed germination and further development into plantlets with 1?2 leaves after 16 weeks ofin vitro dual culture. Moreover, the strain isolated from C. riojana developed intense melanized coilingsand pelotons inside protocorms, a rare feature not observed before. These findings contribute to thegeneral knowledge about the orchid mycorrhiza in the subtribe Chloraeinae, and open an opportunityfor the conservation not only of this particular species, but also of other rare and poorly known Andeanterrestrial orchids.