The Urban Pantheist

There are many hours of daylight this time of year. The trees use those hours to turn the sunshine into sugar--these are the peak production weeks. Down in the roots there is fungal mycelium bonded to the tree's tissues. The fungus helps bring water to the roots, protects them from enemy fungi and bacteria, and uses enzymes to unlock nitrogen from the soil for the tree to use. In return, the threads of fungi drink some of the sugar from the roots, getting the energy they need to do their jobs, and when there is abundant food, to reproduce.

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