''Terfezia'' (
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–19 ...
: Tirfas) is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
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'', '' Pe ...
-like
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 fr ...
within the
Pezizaceae family. ''Terfezia'' species are
commonly known as desert truffles. Some authorities consider this the
type genus of the family
Terfeziaceae,
although
phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...
analysis suggests that it nests within the
Pezizaceae.
The ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (10th edition, 2008) suggests that the genus contains 12 species.
A recent (2011) publication used
molecular
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bio ...
analysis to show that the American ''Terfezia'' species had been incorrectly
classified
Classified may refer to:
General
*Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive
*Classified advertising or "classifieds"
Music
*Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper
* The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
, and moved ''Terfezia spinosa'' and ''Terfezia longii'' to ''
Mattirolomyces
The Terfeziaceae, or desert truffles, is a family of truffles ( ber, script=latn, Tirfas, ar, كمأ, Kam', ckb, دنبلان, Domalan, he, כמהת הנגב, kmehat hanegev) endemic to arid and semi-arid areas of the Mediterranean Region, ...
'' and ''
Stouffera'', respectively; as a result, no ''Terfezia'' species are known to exist in North America.
Israeli agricultural scientists have been attempting to domesticate ''T. boudieri'' into a commercial crop.
Species
,
Index Fungorum accepts 34 species in ''Terfezia'':
*''
Terfezia albida''
*''
Terfezia alsheikhii''
*''
Terfezia aphroditis''
*''
Terfezia arenaria''
*''
Terfezia berberiodora''
*''
Terfezia boudieri''
*''
Terfezia cadevalli''
*''
Terfezia canariensis''
*''
Terfezia castanea''
*''
Terfezia claveryi''
*''
Terfezia decaryi''
*''
Terfezia deflersii''
*''
Terfezia eliocrocae''
*''
Terfezia eremita''
*''
Terfezia extremadurensis''
*''
Terfezia fanfani''
*''
Terfezia hafizi''
*''
Terfezia hanotauxii''
*''
Terfezia hispanica''
*''
Terfezia indica''
*''
Terfezia leptoderma''
*''
Terfezia lutescens''
*''
Terfezia magnusii''
*''
Terfezia mellerionis''
*''
Terfezia metaxasi''
*''
Terfezia olbiensis''
*''
Terfezia ovalispora''
*''
Terfezia pallida''
*''
Terfezia pini''
*''
Terfezia pseudoleptoderma''
*''
Terfezia rosea''
*''
Terfezia schweinfurthii''
*''
Terfezia sinuosa''
*''
Terfezia transcaucasica''
*''
Terfezia zeynebiae''
References
Pezizaceae
Pezizales genera
{{Pezizomycetes-stub