Italian White Truffle

Italian White Truffle Tuber magnatum Pico (illustrated life size) Fruit body 3–16cm across, potato-shaped or spherical; white or creamy; smooth. Flesh creamy; firm; taste nutty, smell strong, typical truffle smell. Spores 35–50×32–42¼, elliptical, reticulate. Asci 60–120×40–100¼, 1- to 3-spored. Habitat in deciduous woods in northern Italy and patchily in the Balkans, not recorded for Britain; autumn. Edible excellent, considered the best truffle by the Italians.