Digging deep to open the white black box of snow root phenology

Snow roots are specialized structures recently discovered in the Caucasian alpine snow-bed plant Corydalis conorhiza. They form extensive networks that grow into snow packs against gravity, most probably to gather nitrogen from snow. Here we test the hypothesis that snow roots are true winter organs, i.e., they should already start growth early in winter to lay down the infrastructure for N capture from snow packs well before their melt-out. This would require winter surface and soil temperatures continuously close to or above freezing. Excavations of snow roots from snow packs in January and May, accompanied by temperature recordings and anatomical observations, supported our hypothesis. These findings complete the annual cycle of snow root phenology. They also emphasize the evolutionary and ecological significance of these specialized winter organs. Moreover, their likely association with a particular abiotic temperature and snow regime will facilitate the search for snow roots in other species. © 2013 The Ecological Society of Japan