World-first Australian truffle find

An Australian scientist has made a discovery which is electrifying world fungal biology - a new truffle genus related to the famous Amanita family, or fairy toadstools.

The Amanita family is famed worldwide for the red and white-spotted toadstools beloved of children's fairy tales, the lethal Death Cap beloved of tabloid media, and a range of delicious edible fungi beloved of gourmets.

The find, by CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products mycologist Dr Neale Bougher, highlights Australia as one of the richest centers of truffle biodiversity on the planet.

Until Dr Bougher discovered the new fungus in the rejuvenating forest landscape of a former bauxite mine near Perth, WA, no one had ever found a truffle - or underground mushroom - related to Amanita.

"It's not just a new species. It's a whole new genus," he explains. "Scientists have been looking for this round the world for well over a century - and here it is, in Australia."

Since the original find by Dr Bougher, he and colleague Dr Teresa Lebel of Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens, have identified no fewer than five new species of what has now been scientifically named Amarrendia - a marriage of the names Amanita and Torrendia, the two families of fungi most closely related to the discovery.

The truffles in question are white and about the size of marbles, though Dr Bougher has since found specimens as large as a decent kiwifruit. More important for him, however, is what the truffle means for Australia's environment.

It adds to a growing view that Australia is one of the planet's mega-biodiverse centers for truffles, which are important elements in soil health.

"So far we've found nearly 90 genera of truffles and over 300 species here. 35% of the genera and 95% of the species occur nowhere else on Earth," he says. "That rivals the uniqueness of our plants - and we're only scratching the surface in what we know about fungi."

Item provided courtesy of CSIRO