Truffles and Truffle-Like Species

• Local Species:
  • Discinaceae
    • Hydnotrya - "Hydnotrya is a genus of ascomycete fungi related to the false morels of the genus Gyromitra. There are about 15 species in the genus.[2] A molecular phylogenetic study recovered a species that was described but neglected for 50 years, Hydnotrya bailii.[3]" Synonyms: Geoporella Soehner (1951) [1] Gyrocratera Henn. (1899) [1][Wiki]
  • Elaphomycetaceae: "Data also support inclusion of Elaphomyces, a genus of ectomycorrhizal truffles, as a member of the plectomycete clade, which would make it the only ascomycete truffle lineage known outside of the Pezizales (Geiser and LoBuglio 2001).^{[BOF Elsevier]}

"Because truffles develop slowly, they are usually found at the end of the mushroom season (February-July in our area). Some, such as Tuber gibbosum, are excellent esculents; others are mediocre and still others have yet to be tried. Although a microscope is often required, truffles are not as difficult to identify as false truffles (for one thing, there are far fewer species)." ^[MushDemyst]

"A keystone ecosystem complex typical of Pacific Northwest old-growth forests includes northern spotted owl and northern flying squirrel, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and Douglas fir. This ecosystem trio subset was chosen as the target for restoration and analysis (Carey 2000a). The northern flying squirrel is the primary prey of spotted owls, and hypogeous ectomycorrhizal fungal sporocarps (truffles) feed the squirrel. These in turn spread spores and associated microorganisms throughout the forest (Li et al. 1986). The fungi have been shown to help move photosynthetic carbohydrates from trees to the mycorrhizosphere, supporting a vast array of soil organisms (Ingham and Molina 1991)." ^{[Apostol RPNW]}

"The fruiting bodies of a few gasteromycete species mature beneath the soil surface. These are called false truffles, and are attractive lures for rodents, which disperse their spores for the nutritional reward of the gasteromycete’s flesh. Genetic data show that some false truffles are closely related to boletes." ^{[Bloomfields Money]}

"Fungus and mammal have affected one another’s evolutionary histories: the truffles have become more attractive to rodents and the rodents have become better at finding truffles. Interestingly, insects flit above the buried fruiting bodies—and continue to do so today—homing upon the same chemicals that have captivated them since they crawled in and out through the maw of the open fruiting body." ^{[Bloomfields Money]}

• However, the false truffles (underground Basidiomycetes) and truffles (underground Ascomycetes) can often be differentiated in the field by the following characters:
  • If the interior is gelatinous, it is a false truffle. If the interior has a columella (e.g., a branched or unbranched internal stalk or well-developed sterile base), it is probably a false truffle (exception: Fischerula subcaulis. an Ascomycete).
  • If the interior is solid and marbled with veins, it is probably a truffle.
  • If the interior is composed of numerous minute holes or empty chambers (giving it a sponge-like appearance) it is probably a false truffle.
  • If the interior shows the embryonic beginning of cap, gills, and stalk. it might be a young Amanita or other gilled mushroom!
  • If the fruiting body is very hard with a solid interior that flakes or chips off like wax, it is probably a truffle.
  • If the interior is completely hollow or has several large hollows or is composed of one mazelike hollow, it is probably a truffle.
  • If the wall (peridium) of the fruiting body is very thick (several mm) and the interior is not hollow and the fruiting body has a distinct base, it is probably a false truffle or earthball.
  • If the outer wall of the fruiting body is very thick and the interior is cottony or powdery and the fruiting body lacks an obvious base. it is probably a truffle. If the wall ofthe fruiting body is infolded to form numerous empty canals or veins orcavities that often open to the exterior, it is probably a truffle.
  • If the exterior is covered with rootlike mycelial threads (rhizomorphs) it is probably a false truffle.
  • If the exterior is covered with warts (often small or large), it is probably a truffle. There are also several mycorrhizal Zygomycetes (e.g., Endogone and Glomus) with truffle-like fruiting bodies ^[MushDemyst]

^[SoilBio-34]

Leucangium carthusianum (L. R. Tulasne and C. Tulasne) Paoletti OREGON BLACK TRUFFLE The Oregon black truffe (formerly classified in the genus Picoa) is among our most beautiful fungi. The often large fruitbodies are brown to black with a smooth to rough exterior that encloses a solid, gray to olive or brownish gleba, which is separated into pockets by pallid sterile veins. The spores are smooth and very large (up to 100 µm long). Leucangium carthusianum often occurs in association with Douglas-fir along the coast but can also be found in urban areas. People who excavate them from their garden (which must have a suitable tree nearby) often think they have found a lump of coal. As with all truffes, this species has a strong pungent fruity (often like pine apple) odor when mature. It is a highly sought-after edible and is collected commercially. ^{[Trudell MPNW]}

• Price: The 1992-1999 price of Leucangium carthusianum in the Pacific Northwest (to harvesters) was $100(US)/Kg. ^[pilz2002]

Truncocolumella citrina Zeller Truncocolumella citrina has a yellow felty peridium, and the gleba is gray to olive or brown, chambered, with a distinctive pale yellow to yellow columella. The spores and most other features are very similar to those of rhizopogons; the major difference is the presence of a columella. Truncocolumella citrina is common under Douglas-fir on the west side of the Cascade crest and also extends into interior conifer forests as far as the Rocky Mountains. The potato-like fruit-bodies are often found partially exposed at the surface of the soil or litter. They are edible, but are reported to have little flavor. ^{[Trudell MPNW]}

Desert Truffles

"Unlike the fancy truffles mentioned above, which are usually sliced fresh over foods or used sparingly to flavor them, desert truffles are the food. What they lack in pungent aroma they more than make up for in abundance. For millennia, species of Tirmania and Terfezia have provided important sustenance to large populations in the arid and semi-arid areas of the Middle East from the south and east of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Desert truffles are the work-horse of the truffle world, producing large numbers of tubers in from February to April. Both nomadic and sedentary populations who live near the desert depend on them for food." ^{[Shavit,2008]}

"A recent revision of Australian species (ibid, 2008) indicates that: ‘Seven truffle species (three of which are new to science) belonging to six genera (one being new to science) have been discovered.... Desert truffles of the Australian Outback, once a cherished food resource for diverse Aboriginal ethnic groups, currently have little or no value for contemporary Aboriginal communities either as a gathered food or as a saleable or even tradable commodity (Liddell, pers. observation). Likewise, no attempts have been made to commercially market Australian desert truffles in contrast to their African and Middle Eastern counterparts.’" ^{[Albuquerque IE]}

• Historical Significance:
  • "Desert truffles belonging to the genera Terfezia and/or Tirmania have been eaten by the indigenous peoples of North Africa and the Middle East from prehistoric times; in addition, they were probably served at royal feasts of the Pharaohs as described by Pliny and Theophrasis and mentioned in the Talmud (Pagnol 1973; Rayss 1959)." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008(2)]}
  • "In traditional Khoisan mythology, Kalahari truffles were regarded as eggs of the “lightning bird” because they appeared after thunderstorms (Murphy 2007). According to Tanaka (1980), some Khoisan hunters believe that desert truffles (kuutse or n’xaba) counteract the effects of poisoned arrows in animals they have shot and, until the hunter “confirms the death of the animal, he can take no food or drink other than water, for the San believe that if the archer eats food, the wounded animal will regain its health and escape. Most importantly, the hunter must not eat kuutse, because the poison in the body of a wounded animal will be weakened. The hunters keep a piece of dried kuutse to eat as an antidote in case they accidently cut themselves with a poisoned arrow.”" ^{[Trappe et al. 2008(2)]}
• Habitat: "Desert truffles manifest themselves to the careful observer and can be relatively easy to collect by people with traditional expertise.... the need for water to initiate fruiting is confirmed by tradition and experience.... Typical Kalahari truffle habitat: sandy soil covered with shrubs and grasses. Kalaharituber often fruits in the dips between sand dunes (background).... Plants associated with Kalahari truffles are as diverse as with the Australian truffles (see Trappe et al. 2008, this issue) and include both herbaceous and woody species (Leistner 1967). Typical habitats in the wild have shrub–grass–forb plant communities (Fig. 4), although they also fruit in cultivated fields of various food plants." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008(2)]} "Truffles used to be prolific in the Kalahari when appropriate rainfall conditions prevailed. Owing to disturbance of the sandy soils around the Kalahari villages by cattle and goats, the truffle harvest is steadily declining." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008(2)]}
  • Hosts: "Species of Terfezia and Tirmania, mycorrhizal with members of the Helianthemum family, constitute the majority of desert truffles." ^{[Shavit,2008]}
• Reproduction and Dispersal:
  • "Mills (1990) observed a brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) digging up and eating 21 truffles. Amy Schoeman (2008) reports that fruitings can be located by watching baboons (Papio ursinus)," “which are particularly partial to them, as are bat–eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) and meerkats (Suricata suricata). Half–eaten portions are sometimes seen lying around where animals had had their fill.” ^{[Trappe et al. 2008(2)]}
• Harvesting: "Aboriginal women probably find the truffles by looking for cracked mounds in the sand much the same way as the San men and women do in the Kalahari" ^{[Trappe et al. 2008]}
  • "The term bulundari, I believe, applies to a single fungus. All the old people here know about it, so it would be widely distributed in spinifex sand country.... When you dig it out of the ground you have to break it open before eating it as that is the only way you can differentiate it from another fungus having the same external appearance [which]...cannot be eaten." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008]}
  • "A good deal of practice is needed before [the method] can be applied, for the cracks are slight, and are specially difficult to find where the surface has been disturbed by game or stock, or where they have been partly filled in by windblown sand, but matters are eased somewhat by the fact that there is seldom more than about three inches of sand covering the truffles and that they grow in patches." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008(2)]}
• Food Use:
  • "Story (1958) reports that the truffles may be boiled or roasted. “The texture is like soft cheese. They are not aromatic and the flavour is far inferior to that of the best European truffles.”... Leistner (1967) notes the Kalahari truffles are eaten boiled or baked in ashes. They may also be fried (Smits, pers. com.). Sometimes they are eaten fresh out of the ground and are said to have a delicious, salty flavor (Thomas 1974). Just as in other parts of the world, some regard truffles as aphrodisiacs.... Mshigeni (2001) reports that when Kalahari villagers marketed their truffles on the roadsides, the average price at that time was USD 4.00 for 25 kilograms (kg) (USD 0.16 per kg)." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008(2)]}
  • Preparation: "Basedow (1904) records that desert truffles are eaten either raw or after being roasted in ashes." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008]} "According to Kalotas (1996), on one occasion truffles were cooked by Pitjantjatjara women:" "... in hot sand and ashes for over an hour, and then eaten. They had a soft consistency (a texture akin to that of soft camembert-like cheese) and a bland taste. Cooked specimens left for 24 hours and then reheated developed a flavor like that of baked cheese." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008]}
  • Medicinal Usage
    • "Therapeutic use of truffles is related by Marti Napanangka of the Warlpiri (Peter and Lofts 1997):" "Mantalyu—mushrooms. They grow underground in sandhill country. Dig hole and take them out. Pick up mushrooms and squeeze out kumpu—juice from inside—onto sores or boils. Long time in bush, rub it in underarm to make the underarm hair fall out. Can eat it, too." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008]}
• Nutritional
  • "Not only are Kalahari truffles considered a delicacy, but they are nutritious as well. Analysis of 24 vegetables for energy content (kj) revealed that, on a weight–for–weight basis, Kalahari truffles were second only to cooked maize among the numerous vegetables analyzed; both scored notably higher than the other vegetables (Nutrition Information Center, University of Stellenbosch 2008). The truffles also had considerably higher fat, phosphate, and potassium contents than maize or other vegetables." ^{[Trappe et al. 2008(2)]}
  • "A sample of desert truffles (Tirmania nivea) from Saudi Arabia was found to contain 27.2% protein, 7.4% fat, 28% carbohydrates, 13.2% crude fiber, and 5.1% ascorbic acid. High amounts of K and P, and all essential amino acids were present in fair amounts." ^{[Shavit,2008]}

Terfezia

"The genus Terfezia includes 12 species (Kirk et al. 2001) , of which only 3 (T. arenaria (Moris) Trappe, T. claveryi Chatin and T. leptoderma Tul. & Tul.) are commercially valued in Spain because of their gastronomic interest and their crop yields. Two other species, T. boudieri Chatin and T. olbiensis Nees, which are also harvested for consumption purposes, have a lower commercial impact given their limited presence and the fact that they are poorer in taste than the other species (Gutiérrez et al. 2004) . The truffle variety Picoa lefebvrei (Pat.) Maire is widely distributed and is known to have excellent antioxidant properties (Murcia et al. 2002) ; however, is not marketed because of its small size." ^{[Azcon-Aguilar MFPEI]}

References

• [E-flora]
  • [1] Rhizopogon vulgaris, http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Rhizopogon%20vulgaris&redblue=Both&lifeform=14, Accessed March 20, 2017
  • [2] Rhizopogon vinicolor, http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Rhizopogon%20vinicolor&redblue=Both&lifeform=14, Accessed March 20, 2017
• pilz2002 - Commercial harvests of edible mushrooms from the forests of the Pacific Northwest United States: issues, management, and monitoring for sustainability, David Pilz, Randy Molina, Forest Ecology and Management 155 (2002) 3–16
• Shavit,2008 - Shavit, Elinoar. "Truffles roasting in the evening fires." Pages from the history of desert truffles. Fungi 1.3 (2008): 18-23.
• Trappe et al. 2008 - Trappe, James M., et al. "Desert truffles of the Australian outback: ecology, ethnomycology, and taxonomy." Economic Botany 62.3 (2008): 497.
• Trappe et al. 2008(2) - Desert Truffles of the African Kalahari: Ecology, Ethnomycology, and Taxonomy, JAMES M. TRAPPE, ANDREW W. CLARIDGE, DAVID ARORA, AND W. ADRIAAN SMIT, Economic Botany, 62(3), 2008, pp. 521–529
• [Wiki]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnotrya, Accessed Dec 20, 2014
  • [1]"Hydnotrya Berk. & Broome 1846". International Mycological Association. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
  • [2]Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA. (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CABI. p. 325. ISBN 0-85199-826-7.
  • [3]Stielow B, Bubnek B, Hensel G, Münzenberger B, Hoffmann P, Klenk H-P, Göker M. (2010). "The neglected hypogeous fungus Hydnotrya bailii Soehner (1959) is a widespread sister taxon of Hydnotrya tulasnei (Berk.) Berk. & Broome (1846)". Mycological Progress 9 (2): 195–203. doi:10.1007/s11557-009-0625-1.