TUBER MALENCONII Donadini, Riousset, G. Riousset & G. Chev.
[as 'Malenconi'], Bull. trimest. Soc. mycol. Fr. 94(4): 357 (1978)
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Macroscopic characters:
Ascomata: hypogeous, subglobose, lobed, gibbous and often with a small basal cavity, 1–4 cm across, warted, blackish brown. Warts 1–2 mm across, irregular, closely packed, pyramidal, 4–6-sided, flattened. The warts detach easily when the truffle is brushed, and the peridium turns red and yellow on brushing.
Gleba: firm, solid; whitish at first, then grey, grey-brown or brown at maturity, marbled with numerous thin, white veins.
Odour: strong and unpleasant, even faecal, sometimes garlicky. Readily detected by truffle dogs.
Taste: not tested.
Habitat
Calcareous soils associated with holm oaks. Ripens in winter and spring. Consistently found under holm oaks in late winter, sharing habitat with Tuber melanosporum.
Notes:
Tuber malenconii is a recently described species and one of the few truffles with 8 spores per ascus, along with Tuber panniferum, Tuber regianum and Tuber pseudoexcavatum.
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Microscopic characters:
Asci: subglobose, sessile or short-stalked, 60–80 × 60–70 µm, 2–8-spored (usually 5–6-spored).
Ascospores: 20–27 (–35) × 15–20 (–25) µm excluding ornament, size variable depending on the number of spores per ascus, Q range = 1.11–1.43, broadly ellipsoid, yellow, translucent, ornamented with a regular reticulum with meshes 1.5–2 µm high, 2–4 µm long, 8–10 across the width of the spore.
Peridium: 500–600 µm thick, pseudoparenchymatous, composed of subglobose cells.
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