The Italian white truffle is a pale, smooth-skinned truffle with cream to brown, white-marbled flesh, fruiting in autumn. It forms ectomycorrhizae with oaks, poplars, willows and other trees on neutral to alkaline soils, mainly in Italy and the Balkans. It is the most expensive truffle; the first harvest from a planted orchard outside its natural range was reported in France in 2019.
Edible and highly prized; usually shaved raw over food. Often imitated: T. borchii, T. asa and T. oligospermum are passed off as it, and some fakes are scented with bis(methylthio)methane, a petroleum-based aroma. Confirm identification: other hypogeous fungi such as Elaphomyces are commonly mistaken for truffles.
Help build this page
This page grows with the community. Here is what it is still missing:
Photos. None yet — moderators review each photo before it appears.Sign in to add a photo
Sightings. Spotted it in the wild? Add it to the map.Open the map
Strains. No public strains of this species on WeMush yet.
Track Your Own Alba Truffle, Italian White Truffle Grows
Join WeMush to log cultivation data, discover strains, and connect with fellow growers.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
Habitat
Underground, ectomycorrhizal with oaks (Quercus pubescens, Q. cerris, Q. robur and others), poplars (mainly Populus alba) and willows, less often fir, alder, beech and elm. Soils neutral to alkaline (average pH about 7.7). Fruits in autumn; the Alba market peaks in October and November.
Distribution
Italy (Piedmont, Marche, Molise, Abruzzo, Tuscany, Sicily), Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Greece, Switzerland (Ticino, Geneva) and southeastern France; a record from Thailand is also reported.
Characteristics
Fruit body: Up to 12 cm and 500 g, usually much smaller; irregular, without a stem. Peridium: Pale and smooth, less developed than in black truffles. Gleba: Pale cream to brown with white marbling.
Difficulty
Expert
Growth speed
Slow
Substrates
Living roots of oak, poplar, willow or hornbeam in neutral to alkaline soil
