''Elaphomyces'' (‘deer truffles’) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of hypogeous

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the family

Elaphomycetaceae The Elaphomycetaceae are a family of fungi in the order Eurotiales The Eurotiales are an order of sac fungi, also known as the green and blue molds. It was circumscribed in 1980. Classification Currently the order Eurotiales contains 5 fam ...

. The widespread genus contains 25

truffle A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including ''Geopora'', ''Peziz ...

-like species. ''Elaphomyces'' is one of the most important ectomycorrhizal fungal genera in temperate and subarctic forest ecosystems. ''E. asperulus'', ''E. granulatus'', and ''E. muricatus'' were found to accumulate arsenic (12–660 mg/kg in dry mass); the composition of organoarsenicals is very unusual, with methylarsonic acid and trimethylarsine oxide as major As compounds.

Species

*'' Elaphomyces aculeatus'' *''

Elaphomyces anthracinus ''Elaphomyces'' (‘deer truffles’) is a genus of hypogeous fungi in the family Elaphomycetaceae. The widespread genus contains 25 truffle-like species. ''Elaphomyces'' is one of the most important ectomycorrhizal fungal genera in temperate and ...

'' *'' Elaphomyces citrinus'' *'' Elaphomyces compleximurus'' *'' Elaphomyces cyanosporus'' *'' Elaphomyces digitatus'' *'' Elaphomyces granulatus'', known as deer balls, hart's balls, hart's truffles, or lycoperdon nuts (''cf.

Lycoperdon ''Lycoperdon'' is a genus of puffball mushrooms. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species. In general, it contains the smaller species such as the pear-shaped puffball and the gem-studded puffball. It was formerly cl ...

'')''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'', ''s.v.'' deer, hart, lycoperdon *'' Elaphomyces japonicus'' *'' Elaphomyces leucosporus'' *'' Elaphomyces leveillei'' *'' Elaphomyces morettii'' *'' Elaphomyces muricatus'' *'' Elaphomyces officinalis'' *'' Elaphomyces viridiseptum''

References

Eurotiomycetes genera Eurotiales {{Eurotiomycetes-stub