Terfezia (Berber: Tirfas) is a genus of truffle-like fungi within the Pezizaceae family. Terfezia species are commonly known as desert truffles. Some authorities consider this the type genus of the family Terfeziaceae,[1] although phylogenetic analysis suggests that it nests within the Pezizaceae.[2] The Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008) suggests that the genus contains 12 species.[2] A recent (2011) publication used molecular analysis to show that the American Terfezia species had been incorrectly classified, and moved Terfezia spinosa and Terfezia longii to Mattirolomyces and Stouffera, respectively; as a result, no Terfezia species are known to exist in North America.[3]

Terfezia
Terfezia spp.
Scientific classification
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Genus:
Terfezia

(Tul. & C.Tul.) Tul. & C.Tul. (1851)
Type species
Terfezia arenaria
(Moris) Trappe (1971)
Species

34, see text

Synonyms[1]
  • Choiromyces sect. Terfezia Tul. & C.Tul. (1845)
  • Tulasneinia Zobel (1854)

Israeli agricultural scientists have been attempting to domesticate T. boudieri into a commercial crop.[4]

Species

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As of December 2015, Index Fungorum accepts 34 species in Terfezia:[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Terfezia (Tul. & C. Tul.) Tul. & C. Tul". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  2. ^ a b Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CAB International. p. 682. ISBN 978-0-85199-826-8.
  3. ^ Kovács GM, Trappe JM, Alsheikh AM, Hansen K, Healy RA, Vági P (2011). "Terfezia disappears from the American truffle mycota as two new genera and Mattirolomyces species emerge". Mycologia. 103 (4): 831–40. doi:10.3852/10-273. PMID 21262987. S2CID 29522937.
  4. ^ Nargi, Lela (2019-07-01). "As Israel's Desert Truffles Become Scarce, a Researcher Works to Grow Them as Crops". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  5. ^ Kirk PM. "Species Fungorum (version 20th November 2015). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life". Retrieved 2015-12-20.
  6. ^ a b c d e Bordallo J-J, Rodríguez A, Muñoz-Mohedano JM, Suz LM, Honrubia M, Morte A (2013). "Five new Terfezia species from the Iberian Peninsula". Mycotaxon. 124: 189–208. doi:10.5248/124.189.
  7. ^ Kovács GM, Balázs TK, Calonge FD, Martín MP (2011). "The diversity of Terfezia desert truffles: new species and a highly variable species complex with intrasporocarpic nrDNA ITS heterogeneity". Mycologia. 103 (4): 841–53. doi:10.3852/10-312. PMID 21289106. S2CID 22648182.