''Geopora cooperi'', commonly known as the pine truffle or the fuzzy truffle, is a species of

fungus 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 th ...

in the family

Pyronemataceae The Pyronemataceae are a family of fungi in the order Pezizales. It is the largest family of the Pezizales, encompassing 75 genera and approximately 500 species. Phylogenetic analyses does not support the prior classifications of this family, an ...

. It has a fuzzy brown outer surface and an inner surface of whitish, convoluted folds of tissue. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, the species has been recorded from Asia, Europe, and North America.

Taxonomy

First described by American mycologist

Harvey Willson Harkness Harvey Willson Harkness (May 25, 1821 – July 10, 1901) was an American mycologist and natural historian best known for his early descriptions of California fungal species. Born and raised in Massachusetts and trained as a physician, Harkness ...

in 1885, the fungus is named for the original collector, J.D. Cooper. It is commonly known as the "pine truffle" or the "fuzzy truffle".

Description

The roughly spherical fruit bodies grow underground. Ranging from in diameter, they are yellow-brown to darker brown with a fuzzy, furrowed external surface. The inside of the fruit body, the whitish

gleba Gleba (, from Latin ''glaeba, glēba'', "lump") is the fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of certain fungi such as the puffball or stinkhorn. The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the sporocarp. The continu ...

, comprises deeply folded and convoluted tissue with some internal open spaces between them. Young pine truffles ooze a whitish juice when they are cut. The odor of the internal flesh is usually mild, but

David Arora David Arora (born October 23, 1952)Barnard J. 1993. "Self-taught mushroom maven travels world for fungi". ''Associated Press'' December 31, 1993. Accessed 2008-01-20, via LexisNexis Academic. is an American mycologist, naturalist, and writer. He ...

has noted the existence of a form in the Western United States that smells similar to fermented

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

. ''Geopora cooperi'' fruit bodies are

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

and considered good by some. The smooth, elliptical or roughly spherical

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

measure 18–27 by 13–21 µm and have an oil droplet. The

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

(spore-bearing cells) are typically eight-spored. They are arranged as a palisade of cells forming a

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some ...

that covers the inner surfaces of the internal folds.

Habitat and distribution

Fruit bodies grow singly or in groups under the soil surface near conifers and ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'' trees. In the field, they can sometimes be detected by the mound of soil they push up as they grow. In western North America, it is found from Mexico to as far north as

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. Specimens from the latter location have been found under

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

trees. ''Geopora cooperi'' is a

snowbank mushroom A snowbank fungus is any one of a number of diverse species of fungi that occur adjacent to or within melting snow. They are most commonly found in the mountains of western North America where a deep snowpack accumulates during the winter and sl ...

, as it commonly occurs after snow has melted. The fungus has also been recorded in China, western Asia (Turkey), Pakistan, and Europe. In Turkey, it is considered critically endangered.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5535586 Edible fungi Fungi described in 1885 Fungi of Asia Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Fungi of Western Asia Pyronemataceae Snowbank fungi