Tuber aestivum
Tuber aestivum Vittad.
Tuberaceae
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(i,ii,iv)].
Morphology and biology. Fruit-bodies hypogeous, more or less globose, 2–7 cm in diameter with thick black brown coat (peridium), covered with coarse, pyramidal warts; gleba brownish with close network of white veins. Spores broadly ellipsoid, 25–50 × 17–37 µm (without ornaments), unicellular, hyaline or yellow brown, covered with massive reticulum, 2.5–3 µm high. VII–III.
Habitats and populations. Mainly under oak buried in the soil.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Western – near the village of Ponor), Rila Mts (near the village of Rila, Blagoevgrad district).
General distribution. Europe.
Threats. Habitat changes as result of drought, wood plantation, wood extraction, livestock breeding, tourism, picking for food; restricted range.
Conservation measures taken. Included in the Red List of Fungi in Bulgaria. One of the localities is situated on the territory of the Rila National Park. Some localities are in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Research into the biology and ecology of the species; inclusion in the national monitoring system of the biological diversity; preservation of the localities of the species.
References. Hinkova 1965; Gyosheva et al. 2006; Dimitrova & Gyosheva 2008.
Author: Evtimiya Dimitrova
