Last year I met some friends, who live not far from me, in the discounter in Fundao who told me that they had found kilos of yellow truffles.
Curious, we gave it a try and found them in the area around Penemacor too, all in all abouth one kilo.
Other friends asked me, are you confusing them with bovists ? Theyhad never heard of truffles in Portugal
But it is easy to distinguish it from the bovist, as a bovist has a clearly defined lighter to white edge to the rather dark mushroom fruiting body in cross-section, and the truffle has a continuous uneven colouring in cross-section, which is partly similar to scales set against each other. It was the same for me
and my "truffles"
But by searchin in the internet i found that
https://www.trüffelschule.de/trüffelreisen-erkenntnisse/portugal-trueffel-suche/
The best-known truffle species in Portugal is Choiromyces magnusii. The Portuguese white truffle is related to the German white truffle, Choiromyces meandriformis in Latin.
It is mainly found on acidic soils with rockrose vegetation between March and April when there is sufficient rainfall.
The tubers are always found underground.
I was unsure ...firstly I found them at the end of October to the beginning of December ...secondly I found them unearthly. Something couldn't be right and I kept looking
and then after more after even more digging I found this
PISOLITHUS ARHIZUS
Synonym Pisolithus tinctorius . This mushroom is known in Australia as the ‘horse dung mushroom’ and in Europe as the ‘Bohemian truffle’. It is often confused with real truffles as it initially grows underground. At this stage of development, it is very easy to recognise if you cut the pisolithus in half to see the inside (gleba). Pisolithus arhizus peridiolosThen you can see that the gleba consists of numerous small chambers with pea-sized spore packets (pseudoperidioles), which change their appearance and colour as they mature: yellow at the bottom, black-brown and juicy in the middle, brown and powdery at the top.
Pisolithus arhizus are very variable in appearance as they mature. The fruiting bodies of Pisolithus can usually only be seen in the advanced powdery stage. It can grow up to 30 cm high due to a pseudostalk.
Pisolithus can grow in very dry places. It is often found on the edges of roads and motorways, where it can even lift the pavement. It is a widespread species.
Pisolithus arhizus is used as a natural dye and is considered edible when young. We have never tasted a Pisolithus. You have to admit that it doesn't look very appetising..
and thats exactly what i found and my friends too...and yes not very tasty but yeah not poisonous