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A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus Tuber. In addition to Tuber, over 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 usually found in close association with tree roots. Spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. These fungi have significant ecological roles in nutrient cycling and drought tolerance.
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.
The Helvellaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi, the best-known members of which are the elfin saddles of the genus Helvella. Originally erected by Elias Magnus Fries in 1823 as Elvellacei, it contained many genera. Several of these, such as Gyromitra and Discina, have been found to be more distantly related in a molecular study of ribosomal DNA by mycologist Kerry O'Donnell in 1997, leaving a much smaller core clade now redefined as Helvellaceae. Instead, this narrowly defined group is most closely related to the true truffles of the Tuberaceae. Although the Dictionary of the Fungi considered the Helvellaceae to contain six genera and 63 species, genetic analysis has shown that Leucangium, previously classified in this family, is more closely related to the Morchellaceae.
The Albatrellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Russulales. The family contains 9 genera and more than 45 species.
Paurocotylis is a genus of fungi in the family Pyronemataceae. The genus contains multiple species, with the most well known being Paurocotylis pila, a truffle-like fungus found in Europe and New Zealand. It was described by Miles Joseph Berkeley in 1855. Species found in countries other than New Zealand include P. watlingii, P. singeri, P. prima, P. patagonica, P. niveus, P. echinosperma and P. bynumii.
Amylascus is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the Pezizaceae family. The genus, which contains two species found in Australasia, was circumscribed by mycologist James Trappe in 1971.
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.
Destuntzia is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the family Claustulaceae. The genus contains three species found in North America. It is named after late American mycologist Daniel Elliot Stuntz.
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.
Tuber gibbosum is a species of truffle in the genus Tuber. It is found in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, where it grows in an ectomycorrhizal association with Douglas-fir. It is commercially collected between as early as October and into March.
Reddellomyces is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the Tuberaceae family. The genus, circumscribed in 1992, contains four species found in Australasia and the Mediterranean.
Andebbia is a fungal genus in the family Mesophelliaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single truffle-like species Andebbia pachythrix, found in Australia.
Gummiglobus is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the Mesophelliaceae family. The genus contains Australian two species described as new to science in 1996. The species, G. agglutinosporus and G. joyceae, "have columellae with wedge-shaped to digitate or strand-like projections that extend to the endocutis of the peridium and are embedded in a remarkable gummy tissue".
Gummivena is a fungal genus in the Mesophelliaceae family. The genus is monotypic, containing the single truffle-like species Gummivena potorooi, found in Western Australia. Described as new to science in 2002, Gummivena is intermediate in form between Castoreum and Gummiglobus, and has a gleba with "veins" of gummy tissue and a three-layered peridium. The specific epithet potorooi refers the fact that the fungus is found only in the range of the rare and endangered species Gilbert's potoroo.
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.
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.
Destuntzia rubra is a species of truffle-like fungus in the family Claustulaceae, and the type species of the genus Destuntzia. The fungus was first described scientifically in 1899 by H. W. Harkness as Hymenogaster ruber. Robert Fogel and James Trappe transferred it to Destuntzia in 1985.
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
- ↑ Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CAB International. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-85199-826-8.
- ↑ Colgan W III, Castellano MA, Trappe JM (1995). "NATS truffle and truffle-like fungi 2: Kjeldsenia aureispora gen. et sp. nov., a truffle-like fungus in the Cortinariaceae". Mycotaxon. 55: 175–8.
- ↑ Mujic A, Elliot T, Stephens R, Trappe J, Kristol R, Sublett D, Smith ME (2024). "Rare but widespread: A systematic revision of the truffle-forming genera Destuntzia and Kjeldsenia and formation of new genus, Hosakaea". Mycologia. 116 (1): 148–169. doi:10.1080/00275514.2023.2259786.
