Tuber puberulum
Tuber puberulum Berk. & Broome
Tuberaceae
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(i,ii,iv)].
Morphology and biology. Fruit-bodies hypogeous, more or less globose, up to 2 cm in diameter, outside with thick, folded, at first pale yellow brown, at maturity dark brown coat (peridium), covered with a fine, pointed, white hairs, 100–160 × 5–10 µm in size; gleba yellowish, turning dark brown at maturity with a few white veins. Spores almost subglobose, 27–45 µm in diameter, unicellular, dark brown, covered with massive reticulum, 2.5–5 µm high. VII–III.
Habitats and populations. On light sandy soils in deciduous forests or under conifers, mixed with hazel (Corylus).
Distribution in Bulgaria. Rhodopi Mts (Central – near the village of Hrabrino, Plovdiv district and around Zdravets chalet).
General distribution. Europe.
Threats. Habitat changes as result of wood plantation, livestock breeding, wood extraction, tourism, drought, picking for food; restricted range.
Conservation measures taken. Included in the Red List of Fungi 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 & Stoichev 1983; Gyosheva et al. 2006; Dimitrova & Gyosheva 2008.
Author: Evtimiya Dimitrova
