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Endomycorrhizae of Orchids
As the name indicates, in endomycorrhizae (also known as endotrophic mycorrhizae) the fungal hyphae enter the cells of the host plant and thus penetrate the host plant and thus penetrate the host tissues. The fungi involved in endotrophic association belong either to the Phyomycetes (possessing aseptate hypae) or to the Basidiomycetes or Fungi Imperfection (possessing septate hypae).

All orchids have endomycorrhizae. However, a few species of some genera of orchids are capable of growing without a fungal partner. They are Cephalanthera, Listera, Epipactis and Cypripedium. Other orchid species of the genera Neottia, Limodorum, Epipogon, coralliorhiza, Galeola, Vanilla, Gastrodila and Didymoplexis depend entirely on the fungal partner since most of them have little or no chlorophyll.