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A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, one of the species of the genus Tuber. More than one hundred other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including Geopora, Peziza, Choiromyces, and Leucangium. These genera belong to the class Pezizomycetes and the Pezizales order. Several truffle-like basidiomycetes are excluded from Pezizales, including Rhizopogon and Glomus. Truffles are ectomycorrhizal fungi, so they are found in close association with tree roots. Spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. These fungi have ecological roles in nutrient cycling and drought tolerance.
The Terfeziaceae, or desert truffles, is a family of truffles endemic to arid and semi-arid areas of the Mediterranean Region, North Africa, and the Middle East, where they live in ectomycorrhizal association with Helianthemum species and other ectomycorrhizal plants. This group consists of three genera: Terfezia, Tirmania, and Mattirolomyces. They are a few centimetres across and weigh from 30 to 300 grams (1–10 oz). Desert truffles are often used as a culinary ingredient.
Terfezia is a genus of truffle-like fungi within the Pezizaceae family. Terfezia species are commonly known as desert truffles. Some authorities consider this the type genus of the family Terfeziaceae, although phylogenetic analysis suggests that it nests within the Pezizaceae. The Dictionary of the Fungi suggests that the genus contains 12 species. A recent (2011) publication used molecular analysis to show that the American Terfezia species had been incorrectly classified, and moved Terfezia spinosa and Terfezia longii to Mattirolomyces and Stouffera, respectively; as a result, no Terfezia species are known to exist in North America.
The Morchellaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi in the order Pezizales. According to a standard reference work, the family has contained at least 49 species distributed among four genera. However, in 2012, five genera that produce ascoma that are sequestrate and hypogeous were added. The best-known members are the highly regarded and commercially picked true morels of the genus Morchella, the thimble morels of the genus Verpa, and a genus of cup-shaped fungi Disciotis. The remaining four genera produce the sequestrate fruit bodies.
Royoungia is a fungal genus in the family Boletaceae. This genus is represented by the type species Royoungia boletoides, which was found in Australia. In 2016, 5 more species were found in China.
Kalaharituber is a fungal genus in the family Pezizaceae. It is a monotypic genus, whose single truffle-like species, Kalaharituber pfeilii, is found in the Kalahari Desert, which spans the larger part of Botswana, the east of Namibia and the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.
Sarcosphaera is a fungal genus within the Pezizaceae family. It is a monotypic genus, containing the single species Sarcosphaera coronaria, commonly known as the pink crown, the violet crown-cup, or the violet star cup. Although several taxa have been described as Sarcosphaera species since the introduction of the genus in 1869, most lack modern descriptions, have been transferred to the related genus Peziza, or are considered synonymous with S. coronaria.
Fevansia is a fungal genus in the family Albatrellaceae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single rare truffle-like species Fevansia aurantiaca, found in old-growth forests of Oregon. The name Fevansia honors Frank Evans of the North American Truffling Society, who collected the holotype specimen. Aurantiaca is Latin for "pale orange", referring to the color of the peridium.
Geopora cooperi, commonly known as the pine truffle or the fuzzy truffle, is a species of fungus in the family Pyronemataceae. It has a fuzzy brown outer surface and an inner surface of whitish, convoluted folds of tissue. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, the species has been recorded from Asia, Europe, and North America.
Austropaxillus is a genus of fungi in the family Serpulaceae, containing nine species found in Australia, New Zealand and South America.
Trappea is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the Trappeaceae family. Species of Trappea have been found in China, Europe, and North America.
Octaviania is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the family Boletaceae. The widespread genus is estimated to contain 15 species.
Tuber oregonense, commonly known as the Oregon white truffle, is a species of edible truffle in the genus Tuber. Described as new to science in 2010, the North American species is found on the western coast of the United States, from northern California to southern British Columbia west of the Cascade Range. A mycorrhizal fungus, it grows in a symbiotic association with Douglas fir. It overlaps in distribution with the closely related T. gibbosum, but they have different growing seasons: T. oregonense typically appears from October through March, while T. gibbosum grows from January to June. The fruit bodies of the fungus are roughly spherical to irregular in shape, and resemble small potatoes up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. Inside the truffle is the gleba, which is initially white before it becomes a marbled tan color. The large, often thick-walled, and strongly ornamented spores are produced in large spherical asci. The truffle is highly prized for its taste and aroma. Some individuals have claimed success in cultivating the truffles in Christmas tree farms.
Malajczukia is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the Mesophelliaceae family. The genus contains eight species found in Australia and New Zealand.
Kalapuya brunnea is a species of truffle in the monotypic fungal genus Kalapuya. The truffle occurs only in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, in western Oregon and northern California. Known locally as the Oregon brown truffle, it was formerly thought to be an undescribed species of Leucangium until molecular analysis demonstrated that it was distinct from that genus. The truffle is reddish brown with a rough and warty outer skin, while the interior spore-producing gleba is initially whitish before developing greyish-brown mottling as it matures. Mature truffles have an odor resembling garlicky cheese, similar to mature Camembert. The species has been harvested for culinary purposes in Oregon.
Fischerula is a genus of two truffle-like fungi in the family Morchellaceae. First described from central Italy by Oreste Mattirolo in 1928, the genus name honors Swiss mycologist Eduard Fischer. The type species Fischerula macrospora is known only from Italy, while Fischerula subcaulis is found in coniferous and mixed forests of Oregon and Washington.
James Martin Trappe is a mycologist and expert in the field of North American truffle species. He has authored or co-authored 450 scientific papers and written three books on the subject. MycoBank lists him as either author or co-author of 401 individual species, and over the course of his career he has helped guide research on mycorrhizal fungi, and reshaped truffle taxonomy: establishing a new order, two new families, and 40 individual genera.
Carbomyces emergens is a desert truffle in the genus Carbomyces, a small genus common to the Chihuahuan desert in the southwestern United States and Mexico. C. emergens is regarded as the most common and widely distributed species in Carbomyces, also serving as the genus' type species. C. emergens belongs to the Carbomycetaceae family, in the order Pezizales, class Pezizomycetes, division Ascomycota.
Paurocotylis pila is a saprobic, truffle-like ascomycete from the genus Paurocotylis. It is native to New Zealand and Australia and is naturalised in the United Kingdom.
Hosakaea is a fungal genus in the family Claustulaceae. The genus contains the single truffle-like species Hosakaea violascens, which is found in Thailand. It is named after Kentaro Hosaka, curator of Basidiomycota fungi at the Japanese National Museum of Nature and Science.
References
- ↑ Burkhardt, Lotte (2022). Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen [Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names](pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2022. ISBN 978-3-946292-41-8. S2CID 246307410 . Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- 1 2 Kovács GM, Trappe JM, Alsheikh AM, Bóka K, Elliott TF (2008). "Imaia, a new truffle genus to accommodate Terfezia gigantea". Mycologia. 100 (6): 930–9. doi:10.3852/08-023. JSTOR 20445026. PMID 19202847. S2CID 19918128.