Perigord Truffle, Black Truffle Tuber melanosporum Vittad. (illustrated 60% life size) Fruit body as for T. aestivum (opposite), but covered with polygonal warts. Flesh turning violaceous-black when cut. Spores 29–55×22–35¼, elliptical, spiny. Spore print brown. Habitat in deciduous woods; autumn to early spring. A speciality of the Perigord region of France, but also occurring in other countries around the Mediterranean, north Africa, and Asia; probably not British, although there is one record in the Kew herbarium. Edible excellent, considered the best truffle by the French.