African truffle (Terfezia leonis)
- Department: Ascomycota (Ascomycetes)
- Subdivision: Pezizomycotina (Pezizomycotins)
- Class: Pezizomycetes (Pezizomycetes)
- Subclass: Pezizomycetidae (Pezizomycetes)
- Order: Pezizales (Pezizales)
- Family: Terfeziaceae (Terfeziaceae)
- Genus: Terfezia (desert truffle)
- Type: Terfezia leonis (African truffle)
- Truffle steppe
- Truffle “Tombolana”
- Terfetia lion-yellow
- Terfezia arenaria.
- Choiromyces leonis
- Rhizopogon leonis
African truffle (Terfezia leonis) is a mushroom of the Truffle family, belonging to the genus Truffle.
The fruit bodies of the African truffle are characterized by a rounded, irregular shape. The color of the mushroom is brown or whitish-yellow. At the base, you can see the hyphae of the mushroom mycelium. The dimensions of the fruiting body of the described species are similar to a small orange or an oblong potato. The length of the fungus varies within 5 cm. The pulp is light, powdery, and in ripe fruiting bodies it is moist, soft, with clearly visible white sinuous veins and spots of brown color and round shape. Mushroom bags with hyphae are located randomly and right in the middle of the pulp, are characterized by a sac-like shape, contain spherical or ovoid spores.
The African truffle is widely distributed throughout North Africa. You can also meet him in the Middle East. Sometimes the species can grow in the European part of the Mediterranean and, in particular, in the south of France. This type of mushroom can also be found among lovers of quiet hunting in Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan (South-West Asia).
The African truffle (Terfezia leonis) forms a symbiosis with plants belonging to the genus Sunshine (Helianthemum) and Cistus (Cistus).
Compared to real French truffle (Tuber), African truffle is characterized by a lower nutritional quality, but its fruiting bodies still represent a certain nutritional value for the local population. It has a pleasant mushroom smell.
It is similar to a real French truffle, however, in terms of nutritional properties and taste, it is slightly inferior to that.