Tuber macrosporum by Nicolò Oppicelli
Rhizopogon rubescens by Darvin DeShazer
Summary
Truffles, famous for their aphrodisiac effects, are one of the world’s most expensive foods. Their tantalizing flavours have recruited an entire industry of truffle hunters, obsessed with recovering these subterranean morsels. In this episode, we take the truffles perspective as we wonder why they yearn to be unearthed.
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Show notes
Thanks as always to Kmathz for the kick-butt theme song for this series. Other music in this episode was produced by IKSRE, and Oh, The Universe!
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Sources for this episode are:
Bougher, N. & Lebel, T. (2002). “Australasian sequestrate (truffle-like) fungi. XII. Amarrendia gen. nov.: An astipitate, sequestrate relative of Torrendia and Amanita (Amanitaceae) from Australia”. Australian Systematic Botany. 15. 513-525. 10.1071/SB01022.
Bruns, T. D.; Fogel, R.; White, Thomas J.; Palmer, Jeffrey D. (1989). "Accelerated evolution of a false-truffle from a mushroom ancestor". Nature. 339(6220): 140–142. doi:10.1038/339140a0.
Smith, M;, Trappe J. M.'; Rizzo D. M.; Miller S. L., (2006). "Gymnomyces xerophilus sp. nov. (sequestrate Russulaceae), an ectomycorrhizal associate of Quercus in California". Mycological Research. 110(5), 575-582, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mycres.2006.03.001.
Steven A., (2007). "The phylogenetic placement of the Leucogastrales, including Mycolevis siccigleba (Cribbeaceae), in the Albatrellaceae using morphological and molecular data". Mycological Research. 111(6), 653-662, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mycres.2007.03.020.
Trappe, J M.; Molina, R; Luoma, D L.; Cázares, E; Pilz, D; Smith, J E.; Castellano, M A.; Miller, Steven L.; Trappe, M J. 2009. Diversity, ecology, and conservation of truffle fungi in forests of the Pacific Northwest. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-772. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 194 p.
This episode includes audio recorded by matschulat, qubodup, Anthousai, keweldog, Figowitz, thorvandahl, and mmiron, protected by Creative Commons attribution licenses, and accessed through the Freesound Project.
This episode of Future Ecologies was recorded on the unceded territories of the Musqueam (xwməθkwəy̓əm) Squamish (Skwxwú7mesh), and Tsleil-Waututh (Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh) Nations - otherwise known as Vancouver, British Columbia.