The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
A saprophyte is an organism that survives by consuming nutrients from dead and decaying plant and animal material, that is, organic matter. Saprophytes include fungi, molds, most bacteria, actinomycetes, and a few plants and animals. Saprophytes contain no chlorophyll and are, therefore, unable to produce food through photosynthesis, the conversion of chemical compounds into energy when light is present. Organisms that do not produce their own food, heterotrophs, obtain nutrients from surrounding sources, living or dead. For saprophytes, the source is non-living organic matter. Saprophytes are known as decomposers. They absorb nutrients from forest floor material, reducing complex compounds in organic material into components useful to themselves, plants, and other microorganisms. For example, lignin, one of three major materials found in plant cell walls, is not digestible by plant-eating animals or useable by plants unless broken down into its various components, mainly complex sugars. Certain saprophytic fungi are able to reduce lignin into useful compounds. Saprophytes thrive in moist, temperate to tropical environments. Most require oxygen to live. North American plant saprophytes include truffles, Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora), pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea), and snow orchid (Cephalanthera austinae), all of which feed on forest floor litter in the northeast forests.