Ceanothus velutinus (light green) regrowing after a fire in the Sierra Nevada mountains. (D. Benson)

Colletia hystrix regrowing after fire in the Andes mountains, Chile (D. Benson)

A discussion of the ecology of the symbiosis involves understanding the ecology of both the plant and microorganism. A discussion of individual plants and their families can be found in the sections on each plant family. This series of pages focuses on the ecology of the microorganism as it lives in association with the plant in the environments occupied. A discussion of the major phylogenetic groups of Frankia, and how they match up to plant familiies, can be found here. In general, each plant genus, and sometimes species, associates with a unique cross-section of known Frankia strains. Click on the individual plant families for information on the relationships that have been identified in different ecological situations.