''Kalaharituber'' is a fungal

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 ...

in the family

Pezizaceae The Pezizaceae (commonly referred to as cup fungi) are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota which produce mushrooms that tend to grow in the shape of a "cup". Spores are formed on the inner surface of the fruit body (mushroom). The cup shape typ ...

. It is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus, whose single truffle-like species, ''Kalaharituber pfeilii'', is found in the

Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...

, which spans the larger part of

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

, the east of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and the Northern Cape Province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Taxonomy

The fungus was first described scientifically in 1895 by German mycologist

Paul Christoph Hennings Paul Christoph Hennings (November 27, 1841 – October 14, 1908) was a German mycologist and herbarium curator. He discovered the study of cryptogams and mushrooms as a volunteer at the botanical garden. Although circumstances initially prevent ...

as ''Terfezia pfeilii''. It was moved to its own genus in 2005 by

James Trappe James Martin Trappe (born 1931) is a mycologist and expert in the field of North American truffle species. He has authored or co-authored 450 scientific papers and written three books on the subject. MycoBank lists him as either author or co-auth ...

and Varda Kagan-Zur.

Description

Fruiting bodies can be up to 12 cm in diameter. These weigh approximately 200 grams, although larger rains (which affect weight) can cause them to weigh twice as much. These fruits grow close to the surface, which causes surface cracks on the ground above after rains. These fruiting bodies can occur as much as 40 cm away from the main

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

Habitat

''Kalaharituber pfeilii'' is found the Kalahari Desert, as well as in other arid regions of South Africa, Angola, Botswana and Namibia. It is found in soils with a pH ranging from 5.5 to 6.5, with a sand content varying from 94%-97%, a clay content varying from 2%-5% and a silt content varying from 1%-4%.

Mycorrhizal relations with plants

''Kalaharituber pfeilii'' is known to form an

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...

l relationship with ''Citrillus lanatus'' (

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...

), and is suspected to have a number of other possible relationships with other plant species. These include ''

Sorghum bicolor ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a Poaceae, grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethan ...

'', '' Eragrostis spp.'', '' Grewia flava'', several species of

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

, and ''

Cynodon dactylon ''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasi ...

''.

Edibility

''Kalaharituber pfeilii'' is eaten by humans as well as by

meerkats MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...

, hyenas, baboons and bat-eared foxes. According to a case study by the

Australian National Botanic Gardens The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departme ...

, the fruiting body is eaten by the

Khoisan Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...

and other indigenous peoples of the Kalahari. Some commercial use of the species occurs.

Conservation

The current populations of ''K. pfeilii'' are thought to be in deterioration, with possible causes advanced being

over-harvesting Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term app ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

or the land practices used in ''K. pfeilii'' habitats.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6350157, from2=Q17481264, from3=Q59537209 Fungi of Africa Pezizaceae Monotypic fungi genera Taxa named by James Trappe Pezizales genera