Mycelial Networks
The most resilient symbioses aren't bilateral deals - they're networks where multiple parties exchange resources.
The most resilient symbioses aren't pairs - they're networks where multiple parties exchange resources, creating redundancy and collective resilience.
Dig up a handful of forest soil and you're holding 100 miles of fungal filament. Threads ten times thinner than human hair, probing between soil particles, infiltrating root cells, dissolving rock with acid secretions. This underground network - fungal mycelium - connects to tree roots, forming mycorrhizal networks (literally 'fungus-root' partnerships). The fungus extends the tree's effective root system by 1000x, accessing water and nutrients the tree can't reach. The tree provides sugars from photosynthesis that fungi can't produce.
But here's where it gets strange: the mycelium connects multiple trees. A single fungal network can link dozens of trees - different species, different ages. Through this network, trees exchange resources. A large tree in sunlight sends excess sugars to shaded seedlings. The mycelium acts as the conduit.
When a Douglas fir is attacked by bark beetles, it sends chemical alarm signals through the fungal network. Trees 30 feet away begin producing defensive compounds before a single beetle reaches them. The forest has a nervous system. The trees talk through fungal telephone wires.
Biologists call this the 'wood wide web' - a resource-sharing network that increases forest resilience.
Business Application of Mycelial Networks
The most resilient symbioses aren't bilateral deals - they're networks where multiple parties exchange resources. Y Combinator creates mycelial networks where startups support each other. The Hanseatic League was a 400-year mesh network. Hub-and-spoke creates brittleness; mesh networks enable peer-to-peer resource flow while taking a small share of larger total volume.