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Seeds in need

Orchids have flamboyant flowers, but they are dependent on drab fungi to survive. In a greenhouse filled with orchids, David Attenborough explains that - in contrast to other plants - orchids don't put big stores of food into their seeds. In fact their seeds are tiny and gardeners found them very hard to germinate. But scientists discovered that many orchids have a special fungal partner which they need to grow. Timelapse shots shows the orchid seeds and fungal hyphae growing together. The fungus can extract nutrients that the orchid can't get at, and within a month the seedling is on its way to becoming a vigorous plant.

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2 minutes

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