truffle (trŭf`əl) [Fr.], subterranean edible fungus that forms a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship with the roots of certain trees and plants. The part of the fungus used as food is the ascoma, the fruiting body of the fungus. The best-known truffles are the black,
Tuber melanosporum, and the white,
T. magnatum, both found chiefly in W Europe. Their flavor is piquant and aromatic, and they have been esteemed as a delicacy from ancient times; recipes for their use are found in Greek and Roman writings. The truffles found in the forests of Périgord, France, have been highly regarded since the 15th cent., and their collection is an important industry. Some are canned for export. Traditionally hunted with pigs, they are now mainly found by dogs, which can be trained to "point" for truffles and have the distinct advantage of not being truffle eaters. Truffle cultivation has had some success; it requires the inoculation of the roots of a host plant seedling with fungal spores.
T. indicum, a black truffle exported from China, is regarded as inferior to
T. melanosporum.
Besides the well-known white and black truffles, there are hundreds of other species, all mycorrhizae, fungi in a symbiotic relationship with plant roots. The tasty Oregon white truffle, T. gibbosum, for example, grows only on the roots of the Douglas fir tree, which is dependent upon the fungus for its mineral nutrition. Truffles are widespread in distribution and are found in a wide variety of habitats.
truffle
English truffle (Tuber aestivum).
(credit: S.C. Porter-Bruce Coleman Inc.)
Edible, underground
fungus in the genus Tuber (class Ascomycetes, division Mycota), prized as a food delicacy since antiquity. Native mainly to temperate regions, truffles flourish in open woodlands on calcium-rich soil. The different species range from pea-sized to orange-sized. Truffles usually are associated with tree roots and are found up to about 1 ft (30 cm) below the soil surface. Experienced gatherers occasionally detect mature truffles by scent or by the morning and evening presence of hovering columns of small yellow flies, but more often with the help of trained pigs or dogs. The truffle is important in French cookery, and truffle gathering is an important industry in France. Truffles are among the most highly valued foods in the world. False truffles (genus Rhizopogon) form small, underground, potato-like structures under coniferous trees in parts of North America.
truffle any of various edible saprotrophic ascomycetous subterranean fungi of the European genus Tuber. They have a tuberous appearance and are regarded as a delicacy
truffle [
′trəf·əl]
(botany)
The edible underground fruiting body of various European fungi in the family Tuberaceae, especially the genusTuber.
truffle
indicates the unexpected. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 178]
an ascomycetous. fungus with a fleshy, tuberous subterranean fruiting body. Most truffles belong to the order Tu-berales. They grow in forests as saprophytes or form mycorrhizae with tree roots. Some of the fruiting bodies resemble marble in cross section.
There are a few edible species of truffles. The most valuable is the very aromatic Tuber brumale, which is black and warty on the outside and dark gray or reddish black with light veining on the inside. Tuber brumale grows in oak and beech groves, mainly in southern France and northern Italy, where it has great commercial value. The species Choiromyces meandriformis, whose light-fleshed fruiting body resembles a potato in form and size, grows in the forests of Western Europe, the western USSR, and Moscow Oblast. Truffles of the genus Terfezia, which belong to the order Plectascales, include a number of edible species but are of less value than Tuber brumale. They grow in Southern Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia, as well as in the Azerbaijan and Turkmen SSR’s of the USSR.
Inedible basidial fungi of the genus Scleroderma of the order Gastromycetes, whose fruiting bodies are in the form of rounded or elongated yellow tubers 3–10 cm long, are sometimes erroneously called truffles. The fungi are found in forests and parks. Their fruiting bodies have an unpleasant odor and initially are solid, with a black interior and light veining; the interior later disintegrates.
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