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 veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
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 Rare truffle location kept secret to stop diggers [UK] 
#9048881 - 10/08/08 03:48 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Rare truffle location kept secret to stop diggers
October 8, 2008 - telegraph.co.uk
A year of downpours has reawakened a rare truffle so prized that its exact location is being kept a jealously guarded secret.
 It is the first time the priceless fungus has been spotted in the UK since 1911.
The Tuber Macrosporum was discovered in a garden just outside Norwich during a routine tidy-up.
But it is so rare the details of who found it will never be revealed to stop truffle hunters digging up their neighbourhood.
Dr Anne Edwards, a microbiologist at the Norwich-based St John Innes Centre and a member of Wymondham Nature Group (WyNG) said: "Scientifically it's quite an important find. It has never been found in Norfolk before and not found in Britain since 1911.
"There were only four sightings prior to 1911."
The rare truffle has flourished on the huge amount of rain which has fallen in the UK this year. A record and samples have been submitted to the National Collection in Kew
Dr Edwards added: "As a scientist it's always exciting to find and study a rare species.
"Perhaps with all the extra rain we are getting we should expect to see more truffles in the future in which case truffles could become the new Norfolk cash crop."
Truffles are essentially mushrooms that grow underground in association with certain types of trees - mainly oak, beech and hazelnut.
They are thought to have started growing underground in a bid to beat forest fires, drought and severe cold - all of which leaves normal mushrooms extremely vulnerable.
The most sought-after truffle in Britain, for culinary purposes, is the Summer Truffle or Tuber Aestivum. Pigs are usually used to hunt for them as they are attracted to the pungent smell.
There are 60 British species but only a few are edible and are rarely found.
Unlike the Summer Truffle, the new species is not considered a culinary delicacy, but it could still be eaten.
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