All About Truffles
The Biology of Truffles
The Black Périgord truffle is native to the Périgord region of southwestern France. The truffle is a mycorrhizal fungus that lives in the soil on the roots of infected host trees. It can only grow symbiotically with specific trees such as oaks or hazelnuts and can not be cultivated in a growing room or a greenhouse.
The host tree provides sugar to the truffle, while the truffle provides mineral salts to the tree and nutrients. When mature, the Périgord truffle is black, spherical, and covered with small diamond-shaped projections. Because of waning supplies in the wild, these truffles are beginning to be cultivated by farms in the U.S.