Finnish wild truffles: A review

Seema R. Bajaj, Salem Shamekh

Finnish wild truffles; white truffles; Tuber anniae; T. foetidum.

Wild edible fungi are a part of diet in various regions of the world, and are also known for their medicinal value. The scientific studies of wild truffle species in Scandinavian countries such as Finland have only started recently. The wild truffle species found and reported in Finland fall in the white truffle category. The growth and occurrence of truffles is affected by various soil parameters, host plants, and the environmental conditions. In this review article we discuss for the first time the less-reported white truffle species that have been found in Finland. The objective of this article is to provide an account of the parameters affecting the growth of Finnish white truffles such as chemical and physical properties of soil, environmental conditions, and the favourable host plant cultivar and discuss molecular tools used for their identification. The studies on these truffles have been compared with the ones from other regions of the world. Finally, we discuss the importance of the studies on the wild varieties of Finnish white truffles, need of further scientific studies, the possibility of using the knowledge for growing the truffle species with high economic value in international market, and subsequently it’s potential to contribute to the economic growth of rural areas.

https://dx.doi.org/10.31873/IJEAS.8.10.02