Terfezia

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
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Pezizomycetes
Order:	Pezizales
Family:	Terfeziaceae or Pezizaceae
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

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

• Terfezia albida^[6]
• Terfezia alsheikhii^[7]
• Terfezia aphroditis
• Terfezia arenaria
• Terfezia berberiodora
• Terfezia boudieri
• Terfezia cadevalli
• Terfezia canariensis
• Terfezia castanea
• Terfezia claveryi
• Terfezia decaryi
• Terfezia deflersii
• Terfezia eliocrocae^[6]
• Terfezia eremita
• Terfezia extremadurensis^[6]
• Terfezia fanfani
• Terfezia hafizi
• Terfezia hanotauxii
• Terfezia hispanica
• Terfezia indica
• Terfezia leptoderma
• Terfezia lutescens
• Terfezia magnusii
• Terfezia mellerionis
• Terfezia metaxasi
• Terfezia olbiensis
• Terfezia ovalispora
• Terfezia pallida
• Terfezia pini^[6]
• Terfezia pseudoleptoderma^[6]
• Terfezia rosea
• Terfezia schweinfurthii
• Terfezia sinuosa
• Terfezia transcaucasica
• Terfezia zeynebiae

References

1. "Terfezia (Tul. & C. Tul.) Tul. & C. Tul". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
2. 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. 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.