Truffles are underground mushrooms that grow as a result of a symbiotic relationship of the roots of particular trees (such as oaks and hazelnuts) with the appropriate mycorrhiza (literally, mushroom root). Truffles can potentially be found almost anywhere next to trees. Only a few families of trees (such as maples and cedars) do not coexist with truffles.
They live in close mycorrhizal association with the roots of specific trees and their fruiting bodies grow underground.
Truffles have been found in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and North America. On the desert after rainfall, knowledgeable Middle Eastern people collect the black truffle, so-called “Terfezia bouderi”, and the brown truffle, called “Terfezia claveryi”. They prefer the darker ones. In Texas, Tuber texensis, and in Oregon, the white Tuber gibbosum are collected. However, only three species are commercially important.
