Discovery of spontaneously fruiting Chinese black truffles in a hazelnut plantation in Bhutan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.2531-7342/24621Keywords:
Corylus avellana, Tuber yunnanense, Tuber indicum complex, multilocus phylogenetic analyses, morphologyAbstract
Chinese black truffle is commercially known as Tuber indicum but it represents a complex to which belong at least 6 species. The members of the T. indicum complex are reported from some Chinese provinces, as well as from India, Japan and Corea, where they grow in association with various local host trees in acidic soils characteristic of montane forests. The recent discovery of Chinese black truffles fruiting spontaneously beneath cultivated hazelnut (Corylus avellana) trees in Bhutan represents a remarkable and unexpected finding for this country. Multilocus phylogenetic analyses conducted in this study revealed that these truffles belong to Tuber yunnanense, a member of the T. indicum species complex. Although T. yunnanense is native to the Yunnan region of China, its natural occurrence in Bhutan (particularly within an agricultural Corylus orchard) extends its known ecological range and suggests potential implications for both regional biodiversity and local truffle production.
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