Abstract
The 930,000 km2 Kalahari covers nearly all of Botswana, the eastern third of Namibia, and Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It is a basin-like, arid and semiarid plain 900 m or more in elevation with a long history of use of truffles by its native people. Three genera and species of desert truffles have been recorded from the Kalahari: Kalaharituber pfeilii is a monotypic endemic. Eremiomyces has also been reported from Spain and Mattirolomyces is a cosmopolitan genus, at least in terms of xeric habitats, but their Kalahari species, E. echinulatus and M. austroafricanus, are endemic. Kalaharituber pfeilii has been prized as a food by the San back into their prehistory. It is harvested for personal use but also for sale to distributors for both domestic use and European markets. Depending on rain in a region where rain is undependable, its production understandably varies strongly from year to year.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Alvarado P, Moreno G, Manjón JL, Sánz MA (2011) Eremiomyces magnisporus (Pezizales), a new species from central Spain. Mycotaxon 118:103–111
Claridge AW, Trappe JM (2004) Managing habitat for mycophagous (fungus-feeding) mammals: a burning issue? In: Lunney D (ed) Conservation of Australia’s forest fauna, 2nd edn. Roy Zool Soc New S Wales, Mosman, pp 936–946
Earth Observatory (2008) http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=35403. Accessed 10 Dec 2012
Ferdman Y, Aviram S, Roth-Bejerano N, Trappe JM, Kagan-Zur V (2005) Phylogenetic studies of Terfezia pfeilii and Choiromyces echinulatus (Pezizales) support new genera for southern African truffles: Kalaharituber and Eremiomyces. Mycol Res 109:237–245
Fischer E (1938) Tuberineae. Engler and Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 2 ed., 5bVIII, p. 38
Hennings P (1897) Fungi camerunensis. I. Engler Bot Jahrb Syst Pflanzengesch Pflanzengeogr 22:72–111
Kagan-Zur V, Kuang J, Tabak S, Taylor FW, Roth-Bejerano N (1999) Potential verification of a host plant for the desert truffle Terfezia pfeilii by molecular methods. Mycol Res 103:1270–1274
Kagan-Zur V, Taylor FW, Roth-Bejerano N (2001) Identification of plant hosts of the Kalahari desert-truffle Terfezia pfeilii. In: Fédération française des trufficulteurs (eds.) Proceedings of the fifth international congress, science and cultivation of truffle. 4–6 Mars 1999, Aix-en-Provence, pp. 82–86
Kayalangalilwa B, Boatwright J (2013) Phylogenetic position and revised classification of Acacia s. l. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in Vachellia and Senegalia. Bot J Linn Soc 172:500–523
Kovács GM (2007) Identification of host plants and description of sclerotia of the truffle Mattirolomyces terfezioides. Mycol Progr 6:19–26
Kovács GM, Trappe JM, Alsheikh AM, Hansen K, Healy RA, Vági P (2011) Terfezia disappears from the American truffle mycota as two new genera and Mattirolomyces species emerge. Mycologia 103:831–840
Khonga EB (2012) Mahupu project. http://www.bca.bw/csp/research_projects/mahupu-project_csp.php. Accessed 10 Dec 2012
Lee RB (1979) The !Kung San–men, women, and work in a foraging society. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, UK
Lee RB, DeVore I (1976) Kalahari hunter-gatherers: studies of the !Kung San and their neighbors. Harvard Univ Press, Cambridge, MA
Leistner OA (1967) The Plant Ecology of the Southern Kalahari. Bot Surv S Africa Mem 38. The Government Printer, Pretoria
Logan RF, Silberbauer GB (2013) Kalahari. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/309972/Kalahari. Accessed 19 Aug 2013
Marasas WFO, Trappe JM (1973) Notes on southern African Tuberales. Bothalia 11:139–141
Mshigeni KE (2001) The cost of scientific and technological ignorance with special reference to Africa’s rich biodiversity. Univ. of Namibia, Windhoek
Mshigeni KE, Mtango D, Massele A, Mgonda Y, Lyamuya AE, Elineema M, Chang ST (2005) Intriguing biological treasures more precious than gold: the case of tuberous truffles, and immunomodulatin Ganoderma mushrooms with potential for HIV/AIDS Treatment. Discov Innov 17:1–7
Pike JG (1971) The development of the water resources of the Okavango Delta. Botswana Notes Record, Special Ed 1:35–40
Silberbauer GW (1981) Hunter and habitat in the central Kalahari desert. Cambridge Univ Press, London
Story R (1958) Some plants used by the Bushmen in obtaining food and water. Bot Surv S Africa Mem 38. The Government Printer, Pretoria.
Taylor D, Thamage M, Baker N, Roth-Bejerano N, Kagan-Zur V (1995) Notes on the Kalahari Desert Truffle, Terfezia pfeilii. Mycol Res 99:874–878
Thomas DSG (2002) Sand, grass, thorns, and…cattle: the modern Kalahari environment. In: Sporton D, Thomas D (eds) Sustainable livelihoods in Kalahari environments. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, pp 21–38
Thomas DSG, Knight M, Wiggs GFS (2005) Remobilization of southern African desert dune systems by twenty-fist century global warming. Nature 435:1218–1221
Thomas DSG, Shaw PA (1991) The Kalahari environment. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, UK
Trappe JM, Claridge AW (2005) Hypogeous fungi: evolution of reproductive and dispersal strategies through interactions with animals and mycorrhizal plants. In: Dighton J, White JF, Oudemans P (eds) The fungal community—its organization and role in the ecosystem. Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL, pp 613–623
Trappe JM, Claridge AW, Arora D, Smit WA (2008a) Desert truffles of the African Kalahari: ecology, ethnomycology, and taxonomy. Econ Bot 62:521–529
Trappe JM, Claridge AW, Claridge DL, Liddle L (2008b) Desert truffles of the Australian Outback: ecology, ethnomycology, and taxonomy. Econ Bot 62:497–506
Trappe JM, Kovács GM, Claridge AW (2010a) Comparative taxonomy of desert truffles of the Australian Outback and the African Kalahari. Mycol Progr 9:131–143
Trappe JM, Kovács GM, Claridge AW (2010b) Validation of the new combination Mattirolomyces austroafricanus. Mycol Progr 9:145
Verwoerd L (1925) A contribution to our knowledge of the South African Hymenogastraceae. S Afr J Sci 22:161–166
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Trappe, J.M., Claridge, A.W., Kagan-Zur, V. (2014). Ecology and Distribution of Desert Truffles in the Kalahari of Southern Africa. In: Kagan-Zur, V., Roth-Bejerano, N., Sitrit, Y., Morte, A. (eds) Desert Truffles. Soil Biology, vol 38. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40096-4_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40096-4_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-40095-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-40096-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)