AMC 2019 Poster Presentation 4 P4-20 Fungal endophytes associated with roots of Calanthe discolor, an endangered native orchid in Korea Sun-mi Lee, Ahn-Heum Eom Department of Biology Education, Korea National University of Education, Korea Orchids, most diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, depend on specialized endophytic fungi from the Basidiomycota at some point in their lives. Orchid seeds are tiny and don't contain sufficient nutrients to support the growing embryonic plant, so they get what they need from the mycorrhizal association. Mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal endophytes directly or indirectly contribute to the growth and development of orchids as well as the production of valuable secondary metabolites. Many orchid species are threatened or even endangered all over the word, because of habitat destruction, excessive overcollection, and climate change. Calanthe discolor is a well-known native orchid species that is endangered in Korea. Since the majority of orchids are difficult to cultivate artificially, there is a need to find suitable fungal partners for the conservation and restoration of endangered orchids. In this study, we investigated the species diversity of endophytic fungi, including mycorrhizal fungi, isolated and identified from roots of Calanthe discolor(terrestrial orchid) in the Jeju island, Korea. The taxa of strains were classified based on morphological characteristics and molecular analysis. Currently, 68 species of endophytic fungi, including species of orchid mycorrhizal fungi belonging to the genus Tulasnella and Ceratobasidium were identified in C. discolor. There are needed more studies about this diverse and valuable association to restoration of endangered species belonging to Orchidaceae. Asian Mycological Congress 2019.