Tuber indicum Cooke & Massee is the black truffle of the Himalaya and southwestern China. It closely resembles the Périgord truffle T. melanosporum externally (black, warty peridium; dark marbled gleba) but has a weaker, less complex aroma and is far cheaper. It is harvested in large volumes from Yunnan and Sichuan and is frequently passed off as T. melanosporum in trade.
Himalaya (India, Nepal) and southwestern China; introduced via contaminated seedlings to Italy and the United States.
Characteristics
Ascocarp: 2-8 cm, subglobose, peridium black with small polygonal warts. Gleba: grey-brown to dark purple-brown with fine white veins. Spores: brown, ellipsoid, spiny (echinulate) ornamentation, 1-5 per ascus. Separation from T. melanosporum requires microscopy or DNA.
