;82 



General Botany 



Fig. 241. Indian pipe (left) and pinesap (right), two saprophytes common in moist woods. 

 The underground parts of the plants are penetrated throughout by fungous filaments, which 

 enter from the humus in which the plants grow. 



the humus into substances that are readily assimilated by the 

 plant. 



Among the bacteria and fungi there are thousands of sap- 

 rophytes. They occur everywhere, and the amount of change 

 that they bring about in the world is so great that it is impossible 

 to overestimate their importance. Saprophytes are the direct 

 causes of all decay and fermentation. They are present in the 

 alimentary canals of the higher animals, and aid in the digestion 

 of food. They are ever-present agents of destruction, and are 

 the organisms that make cold-storage houses and refrigerators 



