Story: Mushrooms and other cultivated fungi

Truffle farm

Truffle farm

The roots of these young hazel and oak trees were infected with truffle mycelia before they were planted out in 1987, near Gisborne. The first truffles appeared five years later. Truffle farms or truffières are planted on well-drained soils with an alkaline pH. Most New Zealand soils are acidic, so they require heavy liming to grow truffles. If the fungi become established on tree roots, grasses and weeds fail to thrive above them, leaving a circle of bare or sparsely-vegetated ground, known as a brûlé, around the trunk.

Using this item

Truffles and Mushrooms (Consulting) Ltd
Photograph by Ian Hall

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How to cite this page:

Maggy Wassilieff, 'Mushrooms and other cultivated fungi - Truffles and other ectomycorrhizal fungi', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/16861/truffle-farm (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Maggy Wassilieff, published 24 Nov 2008