Some black truffles grown in eastern US may be less valuable lookalike species, study finds

Some truffle producers in the eastern U.S. intending to grow European black truffles (Tuber melanosporum) are also accidentally cultivating winter truffles (Tuber brumale), a related species that looks nearly identical but sells at a lower price, according to a new study from truffle researchers at the University of Florida and Michigan State University. The findings are published in the journal Mycorrhiza. In the U.S. and around the globe, European black truffles are produced commercially in truffle orchards, which contain trees whose roots have been intentionally colonized by the spores of the desired truffle species, a process called inoculation. The researchers say the truffle orchards in their study likely planted trees that had been inoculated at least partially with winter truffle spores, not those of the more coveted European black truffle, which sell for hundreds of dollars per pound and are a hallmark ...