TERFEZIA CANARIENSIS Bordallo & Ant. Rodr.
Cantarela 56: 3 (2012)
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Macroscopic characters:
Ascomata: hypogeous to partially emergent at maturity, 2–8(–10) cm in size, subglobose, turbinate, obpyriform, often with a short, hemispherical to obconic base, very light brown at first, becoming reddish-brown, blackening with age, initially smooth, but often furrowed, associated with rapid growth.
Peridium: 1–1.5(–3) mm thick, whitish in cross section, composed of hyphae, 8–20 µm broad with walls ±1 µm thick, appearing as parallel hyphae or as more or less rounded elements, depending on the section angle, hyaline in the innermost layers, yellowish with thicker walls in the outermost layers.
Gleba: solid, fleshy, succulent, whitish with pale orange-pink pockets at first, maturing to flesh-pink pockets of fertile tissue separated by whitish-pink sterile veins, inconspicuous at maturity, sometimes with yellowish-brown spots.
Odour: faint, not distinctive.
Taste: mild, pleasant, gastronomically prized.
Distribution, Habitat and Season:
Canary Islands, in calcareous, clayey or sandy soils, associated with Helianthemum canariense, February through April. Confirmed so far on the following islands: La Graciosa, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Gomera. Its fruiting period is highly dependent on rainfall and temperature, and the species may be absent in years when conditions are unfavourable.
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Microscopic characters:
Asci: nonamyloid, subglobose to ellipsoid, pyriform, sessile or short-stipitate, 60–90 x 50–70 µm, with 6–8 irregularly disposed spores, randomly arranged in fertile pockets.
Ascospores: globose, (20–)21–23(–25) µm diam (median = 22 µm) including ornament, hyaline, smooth and uniguttulate at first, then yellow and ornamented with a well-developed, small-meshed reticulum, polygonal meshes variable in form and size, 0.5–1 µm thick, 1 µm tall. This reticulum is conspicuous from very early stages until complete maturity.
Comments:
Terfezia canariensis has historically been confused with Terfezia claveryi. Both species share a prosenchymatous peridium and reticulate spores, but Terfezia canariensis spores (mean values: 21–23 µm diam, median = 22 µm) are larger than those of Terfezia claveryi (mean values: 18–21 µm diam, median = 20 µm), and have a well-developed, complete reticulum that is more distinct than that of Terfezia claveryi spores, which is often reduced to isolated warts and ridges.
 | Antonio Rodríguez trufamania@gmail.com antonio@trufamania.com |