Most of the forest lives in the shadow of the giants that make up the highest canopy.
These are the oldest trees, with hundreds of children and thousands of grandchildren.
They check in with their neighbors, sharing food, supplies, and wisdom gained over their long lives.
They do all this rooted in place, unable to speak, reach out, or move around.
The secret to their success lies under the forest floor, where vast root systems support the towering trunks above.
Partnering with these roots are symbiotic fungi called mycorrhizae.
These fungi have countless branching, thread-like hyphae that together make up the mycelium.
The mycelium spreads across a much larger area than the tree root system and connect the roots of different trees together.
These connections form mycorrhizal networks.
Through mycorrhizal networks, fungi can pass resources and signaling molecules between trees.
