NATS offers a free truffle identification service. The knowledge gained from your finds contributes to our understanding of truffle habitat, range, and fruiting seasons.

Very often, the "truffles" commonly found around yards and gardens are actually a kind of puffball called Scleroderma (pictures below). These may begin belowground (like truffles) but eventually emerge though the soil surface. Their exterior skin (peridium) is usually thick, and the surface can be smooth to rough or warty. Their interior is a firm black spongy material when young, becoming powdery as they dry and mature (rightmost image). Sclerodermas can cause significant gastric distress if eaten - never eat any fungus unless you are absolutely sure of its identity and safety!

Here are some pictures of Scleroderma puffballs:

	Fred Stevens / Mykoweb	Joe Ammirati / Burke Museum

Visit our Photo Gallery to see pictures of many truffle species.

If you think you've found a real truffle - not a puffball - the first step is to email digital photos showing both the interior and exterior of the specimen to the Trufflemaster. If your collection can be identified by sight, we'll let you know what it is. If microscopic analysis of spores is necessary we may ask you to send it to us for further examination.

If you wish to send collections in, please dry the specimens thoroughly before shipping - damp specimens quickly become moldy in the mail, obfuscating proper identification. The best way to dry truffles is with a food dehydrator. If you don't have a food dehydrator, truffles can be dried by leaving them in the refrigerator in a loosely closed paper bag for a couple of days. They'll dry faster if you cut them in half first. Collection data may be published in the NATS newsletter.