Actinorhizae and Ceanothus Growing®
Plants in the genus Ceanothus grow in rocky and sandy areas. Because of their nitrogen-fixing ability and also because they are pioneer species, Ceanothus plants are extremely important in dryland ecological restoration.
Ceanothus plants form symbioses with bacteria in the genus Frankia. The actinomycetes nodulate eight plant families representing about 25 genera, collectively called actinorhizal plants (Baker and Schwintzer, 1990). Actinomycetes possess fungal-like structures, including septate filamentous hyphae, vesicles, sporangia, and spores. The bacteria invade root hair cells by the formation of an infection thread (Berg, 1999). Actinorhizae provide plants a ready supply of nitrogen, water, and nutrients, as well as elevated disease resistance.
In nursery conditions, plants in the genus Alnus form actinorhizae with air-borne inocula. However, Ceanothus plants do not form actinorhizae even though native stands exist in adjacent forests.
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