Abstract: The truffle genus Tuber ( Ascomycota , Pezizales, Tuberaceae) produces underground mushrooms widely sought as edible fungi . Tuber species are distributed throughout Northern hemisphere forests and form obligate ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with trees within the Pinaceae , Fagaceae, Betulaceae, and Juglandaceae . Of the approximately 100 species of
Tuber worldwide, half are suspected to be endemic to North America . In this study we use multiple genetic loci to assess patterns of phylogenetic diversity within Tuber in order to infer species boundaries and to define morphological and phylogeographic species groupings . Seven major clades were resolved ( Aestivum, Melanosporum, Rufum, Canaliculatum , Gibbosum,
Puberulum, and Maculatum) . Two morphologically distinctive species T. asa & T. excavatum were unresolved. The three most specious clades of Tuber ( Rufum , Puberulum, Maculatum) are distributed across Europe , Asia , and
North America and are comprised mainly of non- commercial species .

Key words: Taxonomy