different European (France, Spain, Italy, and Greece), Northern Africa (Morocco,
Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt) and Middle Eastern countries (Iran, Siria, Bahrein,
and Kuwait). The most highly priced truffles historically have been the European
species as stated in the definition of the word truffle in the Oxford Dictionary
(2013): …‘‘ any one of various underground fungi of the family Tuberaceae; spec.
an edible fungus of the genus Tuber, a native of Central and Southern Europe,
esteemed as a delicacy; esp. T. aestivum or cibarium, the Common (English)
Truffle, and T. melanosporum, the French Truffle, which have a black, warty
exterior, and vary in size between that of a walnut and that of a large potato,
which they more or less resemble in shape….’’. European truffles have been called
black gold or diamonds (Renowden 2005). Another important group of truffles are
those called the ‘‘desert truffles’’ in the Ascomycete family Terfeziaceae. Historically, desert truffles of the genera Terfezia and Tirmania have been an important
food, and medicinal resource, for Saharan nomads (Volpato et al. 2013) and
Southern European and Middle eastern ethnic groups (Jamali and Banihashemi
2012; Al-Qarawi and Mau 2012). More recently, it has been discovered that other
regions in the world for example those in southwestern China, mainly Yunnan, and
Sichuan, have a high diversity of native truffle species. For example in 2010 and
2011, 10 new species of white truffles were described from these regions. Some of
these species, for example the recently described T. panzhihuanense is a good
edible white truffle with a great commercial potential (Deng et al. 2013). All of the
truffle species are obligatory ectomycorrhizal fungi, and therefore they are associated with the roots of specific species of trees, including oaks (Quercus), pines
(Pinus), beech trees (Fagus), lime trees (Tilia), and hazels (Corylus); or shrubs, as
Helianthemum or Cistus (Stobbe et al. 2013; Turgeman et al. 2011). The ecological dispersal of truffle spores is carried out by fungivorous animals, which are
attracted by volatile compounds, like dimethyl sulfide, produced by the fungi
(Johnson 1996; Schickmann et al. 2012).
Truffles can reach extremely high prices in the markets of the world. In autumn
2004, a large Italian white truffle was bought by a London restaurant in a charity
auction for US$52,000 (Renowden, 2005). Similarly, some years later in Rome,
two white truffles were sold in charity auctions as well, in USD$330,000 and
USD$200,000, in 2007 and 2008, weighing 1.5 and 2.8 kg, respectively (BBC
2007; Howell 2013; Pérez-Moreno et al. 2010). The cultivation of truffles started
long before the scientific knowledge related with them was developed. The truffles
establish an obligatory symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees or shrubs in
order to obtain their carbon compounds, which as mentioned before in this chapter
is called ‘‘mycorrhiza.’’ The formal study of this symbiosis started in 1887, when
Anton B. Frank coined the term (Frank 1894) to describe the structures formed by
the roots of trees completely covered with truffle mycelium. However, the first
truffle cultivation trials were carried out a century earlier by the French Pierre
Mauléon and Joseph Talon, between 1790 and 1810, in Beuxes and Saint Saturninles-Apt, two small towns located in central western and southeastern France,
respectively (Hall and Zambonelli 2012). In what is now considered an extraordinary observation skill, these persons found that seedlings planted under trees
6 Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms
203
Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt) and Middle Eastern countries (Iran, Siria, Bahrein,
and Kuwait). The most highly priced truffles historically have been the European
species as stated in the definition of the word truffle in the Oxford Dictionary
(2013): …‘‘ any one of various underground fungi of the family Tuberaceae; spec.
an edible fungus of the genus Tuber, a native of Central and Southern Europe,
esteemed as a delicacy; esp. T. aestivum or cibarium, the Common (English)
Truffle, and T. melanosporum, the French Truffle, which have a black, warty
exterior, and vary in size between that of a walnut and that of a large potato,
which they more or less resemble in shape….’’. European truffles have been called
black gold or diamonds (Renowden 2005). Another important group of truffles are
those called the ‘‘desert truffles’’ in the Ascomycete family Terfeziaceae. Historically, desert truffles of the genera Terfezia and Tirmania have been an important
food, and medicinal resource, for Saharan nomads (Volpato et al. 2013) and
Southern European and Middle eastern ethnic groups (Jamali and Banihashemi
2012; Al-Qarawi and Mau 2012). More recently, it has been discovered that other
regions in the world for example those in southwestern China, mainly Yunnan, and
Sichuan, have a high diversity of native truffle species. For example in 2010 and
2011, 10 new species of white truffles were described from these regions. Some of
these species, for example the recently described T. panzhihuanense is a good
edible white truffle with a great commercial potential (Deng et al. 2013). All of the
truffle species are obligatory ectomycorrhizal fungi, and therefore they are associated with the roots of specific species of trees, including oaks (Quercus), pines
(Pinus), beech trees (Fagus), lime trees (Tilia), and hazels (Corylus); or shrubs, as
Helianthemum or Cistus (Stobbe et al. 2013; Turgeman et al. 2011). The ecological dispersal of truffle spores is carried out by fungivorous animals, which are
attracted by volatile compounds, like dimethyl sulfide, produced by the fungi
(Johnson 1996; Schickmann et al. 2012).
Truffles can reach extremely high prices in the markets of the world. In autumn
2004, a large Italian white truffle was bought by a London restaurant in a charity
auction for US$52,000 (Renowden, 2005). Similarly, some years later in Rome,
two white truffles were sold in charity auctions as well, in USD$330,000 and
USD$200,000, in 2007 and 2008, weighing 1.5 and 2.8 kg, respectively (BBC
2007; Howell 2013; Pérez-Moreno et al. 2010). The cultivation of truffles started
long before the scientific knowledge related with them was developed. The truffles
establish an obligatory symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees or shrubs in
order to obtain their carbon compounds, which as mentioned before in this chapter
is called ‘‘mycorrhiza.’’ The formal study of this symbiosis started in 1887, when
Anton B. Frank coined the term (Frank 1894) to describe the structures formed by
the roots of trees completely covered with truffle mycelium. However, the first
truffle cultivation trials were carried out a century earlier by the French Pierre
Mauléon and Joseph Talon, between 1790 and 1810, in Beuxes and Saint Saturninles-Apt, two small towns located in central western and southeastern France,
respectively (Hall and Zambonelli 2012). In what is now considered an extraordinary observation skill, these persons found that seedlings planted under trees
6 Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms
203