Desert Truffles

[Matthew Weinert]

In article <bpretto.123.0013F43B at io.org>, bpretto at io.org (Bruno Pretto & Paula Vopni) says:
>
>
>>My next door neighbour was in Syria on an archeologigal expedition. At the 
>>market he was able to locate some desert truffles for me. He returned with one 
>>specimen weighing approx. 500 grams, for which he paid $ 10.00. It has a 
>>smooth outside skin unlike the french truffles. I plan to take some 
>>photographs of it before consuming it and I will post them on the net.
>>Can anyone tell me the latin name for this truffle.
>
>July 16
>Have finally photographed and tasted this intriguing fungus. The exterior is 
>dark brown, smooth textured. The interior is beige with white interlacing 
>lines rather like the Italian white truffle.  The  flavour is very mild but 
>rather pleasant, texture is somewhat crunchy. There is not much aroma to 
>compared to the French black truffle.
>
>But here is a good question for all you mycologists. Is this a mychorrizal 
>species, and if it is what is it forming a symbiotic relationship with if 
>there are no trees in the desert. 
>  Bruno Pretto, Fun Guy Farm (Toronto,Canada).
>      Home page http://www.io.org/~bpretto
>      NAMA Trustee for Toronto Mycological Society.
>      Secretary Oak Forest Mushroom Association (outdoor shiitake growers).

I'm sure that fungi do not only form mychorrizal symbiotic relationships
with trees. I'm sure that I have read somewhere that morels are thought to
be mychorrizal with some types of braken ferns. The only morel cap I have 
found, morels don't appear to be too common in Australia, was growing in 
amongst some bracken.