In many cases the slimy masses of spermatia (Uredineae), conidia (Claviceps), basidiospores (Phallus, Coprinus), &c., emit more or less powerful odours, which attract flies or other insects, and it has been shown that bees carry the flagrant oidia of Sclerotinia to the stigma of Vaccinium and infect it, and that flies carry away the foetid spores of Phallus, just as pollen is dispersed by such insects.
Some such species are Blechnum boreale, Aira flexuosa, Calluna vulgaris, Vaccinium, Myrlillus, Rubus, Chamaemorus, Empetrum nigrum, Drosera spp. Some, at least, of these species possess mycorhiza in their roots, and are perhaps unable to live in soils where such organisms are absent.