Isn't this a old puffball?

Konrad, it's not a buff ball, this one was found underground along with the others I've come across, it's spongy and dense and much resembles the black truffle as shown in the below link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Black truffle

Well then you might just be one of the first to have truffels in Alberta. More exotic material you have to show me,.. I'm getting jealous! What is the habitat for it around, ...like what trees and shrubs, it NEEDS certain species I believe, common is oak.

Konrad, the main species I have here is birch, white poplar and hazelnuts that grow all over the place. I cautiously tasted a small bit of this thing and it was chewy and gritty and had no flavor, it's not something I'm gonna be slicing and putting over my pasta, lol.

Hazelnut is also one of its hosts.

Interesting. I couldn't find anything on the web about truffles in Alberta, and none of the links to false-truffles look like what you have either. Out of curiousity, since they are underground, how did you come across them?

No taste eah....what a bummer!

How large would this be,...hard to tell in photo.

You might want to post this over at the Moss, Ferns & Cryptogams.

Hi , seen your "truffle" on houzz. Experienced the same discovery a few years back while planting a spruce tree close to a large white poplar tree. Must have weighted 5 lbs + -, 12" across looked like a twin to one u found. I came to the conclusion as you, white truffle!

Who knows! Did you ever find anything out about this beast? Let me know if you get any info..thx.

Email ..... straw-bale-man@hotmail.com

William

William, had you tasted the truffle? The one above might possibly have been dead, the location had previously been a hazelnut grove, though several years previous, all vegetation had been cleared from the site and the area sat as a sun baked slope. I have not yet come across another, I guess I should borrow a pig and take him though the surrounding forest, lol.

Wolfiporia extensa is a fungus that forms sclerotia underground that look like the objects in the photo above (though I cannot tell the size of the object from the photo). Not a truffle if so.

Shannon, thanks for that information, definitely seems a possibility!

There is fools gold and this might be fools truffle lol.