The mildly aromatic black summer truffle has a tannish white inner flesh and brownish black wrinkled outer skin. There is plenty of supply of this mushroom variety from June to November. Truffles grow close to the roots of trees such as oaks, hazelnut, chestnut, and red alder. Most of them are buried about 2 to 3 inches deep to the ground. Truffles can be found in countries like France, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, some parts in the Middle East and North Africa. They can also be grown and found in United States, particularly in Oregon and Washington. They can be found under the roots of oak, elm, chestnut, pine and willow trees. There are just few trees which are not associated to truffle growth, like maple and cedar trees. Even if they re known for their strong flavor and aroma, truffles still vary in those departments depending on the fungal species. For example, a Chinese truffle is different from Italian truffle, even though they are both black. The Chinese variety has weaker flavor, while the Italian variety has more culinary significance. If you are fond of eating truffles and mushrooms in general, here are the some of the health benefits that you can expect: 1. It is a good source of high protein. Truffles have high protein content ranging from 20 to 30 percent for every serving. Experts say that truffles are excellent sources of high protein content which it very ideal because these contain all the amino acids essential to good nutrition for humans. Truffles are different from other mushrooms since it is a hypogean or an underground mushroom. What is harvested is the fruit, the roots are white filaments called as hyphas, and there is not stem. Truffles would suck sap from the host plant or trees. Those truffles that grow under the roots of oak trees are the most pungent, while those that grow in the roots of lime trees are the most aromatic. You can dig truffles from as deep as 15 inches from the ground. That is why you enlist the help of a trained dog or pig when scouring different sources of truffles in the wild. Your hunting buddy must have the ability to detect the pungent smell of truffles. For this task, the female pig can sniff out truffles that smell like the one emitted by a male pig.