Fungal diversity has taken a leap forward with the discovery of a new kind of mushroom in Australia: Amanita truffles. Members of the new genus Amarrendia are part of a family that already includes some of the most colorful (fairy toadstool), poisonous (death cap), and delicious (red amanita) mushrooms.
Mycologist Neal Bougher of CSIRO, the Australian research organisation, uncovered the grape-sized truffles while surveying the soil of an old bauxite mine in western Australia. Upon returning to the lab and seeing their characteristic Amanita structures under the microscope, "I went crazy," says Bougher, because "scientists have been looking for this 'round the world for well over a century." The truffle way of life is common among members of other fungal families, but no Amanita truffle had been found. The fact that it turned up in the dry soils of western Australia does not surprise Bougher, as fruiting underground is one way to deal with arid conditions. The find confirms Australia's "amazing fungal biodiversity," says James Trappe of Oregon State University in Corvallis, who suspects that Amarrendia may be an important part of the diet of endangered marsupials.
While the mycologists continue studying the new truffles, gastronomists will have to wait. The specimens so far found are too scientifically precious to nibble, although, says Bougher, they will probably prove nontoxic, because truffles rely on their edibility for spore dispersal.
CREDIT: N. BOUGHER
