Researchers discovered a new species of truffle at Arboretum — but they didn’t taste it

There’s scarcely a more studied patch of soil in New England than the Arnold Arboretum , but it turns out the institution’s trees have been keeping a secret.

The trees’ roots have been hiding at least eight kinds of truffles, the elusive fungi that can carry earthy, funky flavors prized by chefs.

In a recently published paper, researchers wrote that they had identified a new species of the aromatic underground fungus, naming it tuber arnoldianum in honor of the Harvard arboretum.

In addition, the researchers wrote that they had found evidence that the tuber borchii, an aromatic bianchetto truffle, was growing wild there, something they’ve never seen the valuable European species do in North America.

“In this place where people thought there were no truffles, we documented eight species,” said Matthew E. Smith, a co-author of the paper published this month by the journal Mycorrhiza. “There’s so much hidden biology in a place that you would expect to know a lot.”read more