Interannual variation and host affiliations of endophytic fungi associated with ferns at La Selva, Costa Rica.

Ferns are an ancient and diverse lineage of vascular plants that differ morphologically, chemically and in growth habits from the angiosperms with which they co-occur. We used a culture-based approach coupled with phylogenetic analyses to characterize the incidence, diversity and composition of fungal endophyte assemblages in ferns, with a focus on healthy aboveground tissues of seven species of eupolypods at La Selva, Costa Rica. Endophytes were isolated from every individual plant and were similarly abundant and diverse in frond blades and stalks, in different vegetation types, in epiphytic vs.