Specially trained dogs and their impressive noses helped a team of researchers and citizen scientists discover two new species of the truffles. The “truffle dogs” sniffed out Tuber cumberlandense and Tuber canirevelatum, which are native to North America. The two new species of these expensive and elusive fungi are described in a study recently published in the journal Mycologia.
“Truffles are some of the most mysterious and alluring fungi on the planet,” study co-author and University of Florida doctoral student Benjamin Lemmond said in a statement. “They live their lives underground, out of sight, but people all around the world are eager to find them and enjoy their unique culinary qualities. This study shows that there are still undiscovered truffles right under our nose, so to speak, and that without the help of dogs (and their incredible noses) we might never find them.”
Kentucky truffle whiskey?
Tuber cumberlandense was uncovered by a truffle dog named Luca and trainer Margaret Townsend and is named for the Cumberland Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains where it was found.
Previously, T. cumberlandense has been harvested in truffle orchards and in woodlands, but was sold under other names. This new analysis showed that it is actually a distinct and previously undescribed species native to North America. Distiller Maker’s Mark is now trying to figure out how to cultivate this native truffle for its spirits.
“This particular species enjoys a symbiotic relationship with their host, white oaks, growing from their roots and providing nutrition to the trees,” study co-author and Michigan State University mycologist Gregory Bonito said in a statement. “Maker’s Mark is interested in cultivating T. cumberlandense because they store their whiskey in white oak barrels. They will be reforesting their land in Kentucky with white oaks for the barrels and hope one day to harvest truffles as well; perhaps they will even create truffle-infused whiskey.”
The ‘dog-found truffle’
Monza and her trainer Lois Martin discovered Tuber canirevelatum. The name means “dog-found truffle,” in Latin in honor of the truffle dogs. Martin sent the T. canirevelatum samples to Michigan State University since the samples didn’t smell or look like anything known to grow in North America. Bonito and study co-author and undergraduate research student, Alassane Sow, analyzed DNA to place them on the fungi family tree.
“Receiving these samples was very exciting, especially because they looked very similar to the well-known edible European truffles Tuber macrosporumand [and] Tuber aestivum,” Sow said in a statement. “We hope that by describing both of these species there will be increased interest in cultivating North American truffles. Our analyses show that each has aromatic compounds found in some of the most valuable truffle species.”
[ Related: You’ve heard of truffle pigs. Now get ready for truffle birds.]
North American truffles could be big business
Cultivating and selling European truffle species–often with the help of hogs–has been the norm. However, there is a growing interest in cultivating, wild-harvesting, and selling species of truffles that are native to North America. As more people try to grow and cultivate truffles, more truffle dogs will be needed to find them underground.
“If you have $20,000 of truffles growing underground, you need to find them before they perish, so the dogs are very important,” Bonito said.
Truffles are expensive and highly prized in the culinary world due to their rarity. In 2023, a bidder in Hong Kong reportedly paid $141,000 for a white truffle that weighed over two pounds. Each of these new species of truffle has economic potential and produces a unique aroma. This scent is the basis for the culinary potential of truffles–and their potential value. While prices vary, white truffles can cost $4,000 per pound and black truffles range from roughly $300 to $800.
The team suspects that there are other native North American tuber species just waiting to be discovered underground.
“Our research reinforces the importance of using trained truffle dogs in tuber research and truffle farming,” Bonito said. “We suspect many native tuber species remain to be discovered and described. This task will be enhanced through the continued collaboration between mycologists–scientists who study fungi–the public and trained truffle dogs.”
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