All orchids are at least partially mixtrophic. It’s being able to parasitise fungi that allows them to germinate. In the longer-term, they can build specialised relationships that might still be parasitic and remain heterotrophic, getting their food from elsewhere. Or they might same some of their own food through photosynthesis and have a mix of nutrients from the air and their fungal partners, a mixotrophic lifeway.

Not all fungi are the same, and orchids might require their own partners. Could this place a limit on orchid distribution, leaving them unable to germinate where their fungal partners don’t live? Oktalira and colleagues examined two closely related Caladenia orchid species pairs to find out. (try this if the DOI is broken)