"Oh, yes, this one has it... and this one too. Look, it's already in the late protocorm stage, and you can see a distinct bud tip."
Looking through the magnifying glass, Li Xu saw that the tiny seed had indeed sprouted a tender green bud.
This meant they had found the fungus.
Shao Shicheng took a small, portable microscope out of his bag and placed the germinating seed under the lens.
"Dr. Li, take a look."
Li Xu leaned in to look.
Under the microscope, countless hair-thin filaments were entwined around the Dendrobium seeds—the hyphae of the fungus.
What was amazing was that these hyphae had already penetrated the seed's cells, forming dense coils.
"These hyphal coils are how the fungus 'feeds' the Dendrobium seeds."
Shao Shicheng explained, "It takes the place of the endosperm, providing the seed with sources of carbon and nitrogen. The fungus and the Dendrobium form a perfect symbiotic relationship."
