1. Aristotle (4th century BCE, dubious)
Attributed to Aristotle in some 19th century collections of fragments, but I have no idea why. Maybe because of a tendency to assign to Aristotle things said by his student? Or maybe the collection includes the early Peripatos? Found it with a TLG search, but I didn’t find the edition it comes from. σκληρότερα might be a corruption, see e.g. the Athenaeus text below where he says that there are more truffles when the storms are σκληραί / severe.
“Truffles become harder when there is continuous thunder, as Theophrastus has said in his works on plants.”
τὰ ὕδνα βροντῶν συνεχῶν γιγνομένων σκληρότερα γίγνεται, καθάπερ Θεόφραστος ἐν τοῖς περὶ φυτῶν εἴρηκεν.
2. Diocles of Carystus (4th century BCE)
‘Diocles of Carystus says in the first book of Matters of Health: “wild plants to be boiled are beet, mallow, monk’s rhubarb, stinging nettle, orach, grape hyacinths, truffles, mushrooms.”’
Διοκλῆς ὁ Καρύστιος ἐν αʹ Ὑγιεινῶν φησιν· ‘ἄγρια ἑψήματα τεῦτλον, μαλάχη, λάπαθον, ἀκαλήφη, ἀνδράφαξυς, βολβοί, ὕδνα, μύκαι.
Athenaeus, The Sophists’ at Dinner, 2.57, 61c = Diocles Fragment 195 van der Eijk
3. Theophrastus (4th century BCE)
“The same differences (in the roots) exist among undershrubs, herbs and the rest, except that some have no roots at all, like the truffle, the mushroom, the bullfist, and the keraunion .*”
αἱ αὐταὶ δὲ διαφοραὶ καὶ τῶν φρυγανικῶν καὶ τῶν ποιωδῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων· πλὴν εἰ ὅλως ἔνια μὴ ἔχει, καθάπερ ὕδνον μύκης πέζις κεραύνιον.
Theophrastus, History of Plants, 1.6.5
*Keraunion (κεραύνιον), from the word for thunderbolt, keraunos, perhaps another kind of truffle.
“For it is not correct to call everything underground a root. For in that case the stem of the grape hyacinth and of the long onion and generally any part which is underground would be a root, also the truffle and what some people call askhios and the ouignon and any other underground plants, of which none are roots—for we must distinguish things by natural capacity and not by place.”
τὸ γὰρ δὴ πᾶν λέγειν τὸ κατὰ γῆς ῥίζαν οὐκ ὀρθόν· καὶ γὰρ ἂν ὁ καυλὸς τοῦ βολβοῦ καὶ ὁ τοῦ γηθύου καὶ ὅλως ὅσα κατὰ βάθους ἐστὶν εἴησαν ἂν ῥίζαι, καὶ τὸ ὕδνον δὲ καὶ ὃ καλοῦσί τινες ἀσχίον καὶ τὸ οὔϊγγον καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ὑπόγειόν ἐστιν· ὧν οὐδέν ἐστι ῥίζα· δυνάμει γὰρ δεῖ φυσικῇ διαιρεῖν καὶ οὐ τόπῳ.
Theophrastus, History of Plants, 1.6.9
4. Dioscorides (1st century)
“Truffle is a root that is round with no leaves, no stem, light brown, dug up in the spring. It is both edible when raw and eaten when boiled.”
ὕδνον ῥίζα ἐστὶ περιφερής, ἄφυλλος, ἄκαυλος, ὑπόξανθος, ἔαρος ὀρυττομένη. ἐδώδιμος δέ ἐστιν ὠμή τε καὶ ἑφθὴ ἐσθιομένη.
Dioscorides, On Medical Materials, 2.145 (1.212,18–213,2 Wellmann)
5. Plutarch (1st century)
Why do some people think truffles are produced by thunder, and why do they think sleeping people are not struck by lightning?
‘Agemachos once offered us giant truffles while we were dining in Elis. Everyone there was amazed, and one person said with a smirk, “they’re surely worth the thunderstorms we’ve been having lately,” clearly poking fun at those who say truffles are produced by thunder. Indeed, there are some people who say that the earth is split by thunder, the air operating like a spike, and afterwards the truffle hunters use the cracks in the ground as a sign. From this arose a popular belief that truffles are produced by thunder rather than uncovered, as if someone were to think that snails were produced by rain instead of being lead out and made visible. Agemachos, however, held on stubbornly to the story and asked us not to think that what is wondrous is implausible. For there are many other wondrous things that come from thunder, lightning and related divine signs—things that have causes that are difficult or altogether impossible to discover.’
Διὰ τί τὰ ὕδνα δοκεῖ τῇ βροντῇ γίνεσθαι, καὶ διὰ τί τοὺς καθεύδοντας οἴονται μὴ κεραυνοῦσθαι.
Ὕδνα παμμεγέθη δειπνοῦσιν ἡμῖν Ἀγέμαχος παρέθηκεν ἐν Ἤλιδι. θαυμαζόντων δὲ τῶν παρόντων, ἔφη τις ὑπομειδιάσας ‘ἄξιά γε τῶν βροντῶν τῶν ἔναγχος γενομένων,’ ὡς δὴ καταγελῶν τῶν λεγόντων τὰ ὕδνα τὴν γένεσιν ἐκ βροντῆς λαμβάνειν. ἦσαν οὖν οἱ φάσκοντες ὑπὸ βροντῆς τὴν γῆν διίστασθαι καθάπερ ἥλῳ τῷ ἀέρι χρωμένης, εἶτα ταῖς ῥωγμαῖς τεκμαίρεσθαι τοὺς τὰ ὕδνα μετιόντας· ἐκ δὲ τούτου δόξαν ἐγγενέσθαι τοῖς πολλοῖς, ὅτι τὸ ὕδνον αἱ βρονταὶ γεννῶσιν οὐ δεικνύουσιν, ὥσπερ εἴ τις οἴοιτο τοὺς κοχλίας ποιεῖν τὸν ὄμβρον ἀλλὰ μὴ προάγειν μηδ' ἀναφαίνειν. ὁ δ' Ἀγέμαχος ἰσχυρίζετο τῇ ἱστορίᾳ καὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν ἠξίου μὴ ἄπιστον ἡγεῖσθαι. καὶ γὰρ ἄλλα πολλὰ θαυμάσια βροντῆς ἔργα καὶ κεραυνοῦ καὶ τῶν περὶ ταῦτα διοσημιῶν εἶναι, χαλεπὰς καταμαθεῖν ἢ παντελῶς ἀδυνάτους τὰς αἰτίας ἔχοντα.
Plutarch, Table Talk (quaestiones convivales) 4.2, Moralia 664B–C
6. Galen (2nd century)
“On truffles. It is necessary to include these among the roots and vegetables, although they have no evident quality. That’s why people use them as a base for seasonings, just like they use the other ones they call bland, harmless and watery in taste. They all share in common that their nutriment, when it gets distributed to the body, has no remarkable property. Instead, the nutriment is a bit cool, while in thickness it is itself similar in quality to whatever was eaten, thicker when it comes from truffle, more watery and thinner when comes from colocynth and likewise in the case of the others.”
Περὶ ὕδνων. Ἐν ῥίζαις ἢ βολβοῖς ἀριθμεῖν ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι καὶ ταῦτα μηδεμίαν ἔχοντα σαφῆ ποιότητα. χρῶνται τοιγαροῦν αὐτοῖς οἱ χρώμενοι πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν ἀρτυμάτων, ὥσπερ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις, ὅσα καλοῦσιν ἄποια καὶ ἀβλαβῆ καὶ ὑδατώδη κατὰ τὴν γεῦσιν. ἔστι δ' ἁπάντων αὐτῶν κοινόν, ὡς μηδὲ τὴν ἀναδιδομένην εἰς τὸ σῶμα τροφὴν ἐξαίρετόν τινα δύναμιν ἔχειν, ἀλλ' ὑπόψυχρον μὲν εἶναι, τῷ πάχει δ', ὁποῖον ἄν τι καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἐδηδεσμένον ᾖ, παχυτέραν μὲν ἐξ ὕδνου, ὑγροτέραν δὲ καὶ λεπτοτέραν ἐκ κολοκύνθης ἐπί τε τῶν ἄλλων ἀνὰ λόγον.
Galen, On the Properties of Foods, 2.66 (6.655 Kühn = 327,16–328,3 Helmreich)
“On Truffle. Truffles are known to everyone to have a predominantly earthy substance, possessing a small number of fine particles that have been mixed in to their composition.”
Περὶ ὕδνου. Ὕδνα πᾶσι γνώριμα γεωδεστέραν οὐσίαν ἐπικρατοῦσαν, ἐν τῇ συστάσει κέκτηται βραχέος τινὸς αὐτῇ μεμιγμένου τοῦ λεπτομεροῦς.
Galen, Simple Drugs 9.19, 12.147 Kühn
7. Athenaeus of Naucratis (2nd/3rd century)
‘Truffles. These are also produced spontaneously from the ground especially in sandy places. Theophrastus says about them: “the truffle, which some call geraneion* and any other subterranean plant.” And again: “this is the creation and nature of these earth-born plants, like the truffle and the thing that grows near Cyrene which people call misy. This is considered very sweet and has the scent of meat, like the oiton that is produced in Thrace. Something peculiar is said about these. For they say that they are produced when the autumn rains occur with strong thunder, and more when there is more thunder, as this is more their proper cause. They are not perennials, but annuals. They are useful and at their peak in the spring. Nevertheless, some people suppose that they start from seed. In any case, on the shores of Mytilene they say they do not grow before there is a heavy rain that washes the seed down from Tiarai, while this is a region in which many grow. They are produced especially on the shores and wherever the land is sandy, for Tiarai is also like this. They also grow in the Abarnis around Lampsakos and in Alopekonnesos and in Elis.” Lynkeus of Samos says: “the sea sends up sea-anemone, the earth truffles.” And Matron the parodist in The Banquet: “he has sent up oysters, the truffles of Thetis the Nereid.” Diphilos says truffles are difficult to digest, but juicy and relaxing, besides being laxative, and some of them can cause you to choke, in a similar way to mushrooms. Hegesandros of Delphi says that in the Hellespont there are no truffles, no glaukiskos, and no thyme. For this reason Nausikleides said “neither spring nor friend.” Pamphilos in Dialects says that truffle-grass is the herb that grows on top of truffles, by which the truffle is discovered.’
ΥΔΝΑ. γίνεται καὶ ταῦτα αὐτόματα ἀπὸ γῆς μάλιστα περὶ τοὺς ἀμμώδεις τόπους. λέγει δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν Θεόφραστος (1, 6, 9)· ‘τὸ ὕδνον (ὃ καλοῦσί τινες γεράνειον) καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ὑπόγειον.’ καὶ πάλιν (fr. 167 W)· ‘καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐγγεοτόκων τούτων γένεσις ἅμα καὶ φύσις, οἷον τοῦ τε ὕδνου καὶ τοῦ φυομένου περὶ Κυρήνην ὃ καλοῦσι μίσυ. δοκεῖ δ' ἡδὺ σφόδρα τοῦτ' εἶναι καὶ τὴν ὀσμὴν ἔχειν κρεώδη, καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ δὲ γενόμενον οἰτόν. περὶ δὲ τούτων ἴδιόν τι λέγεται· φασὶ γάρ, ὅταν ὕδατα μετοπωρινὰ καὶ βρονταὶ γίνωνται σκληραί, τότε γίνεσθαι, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅταν αἱ βρονταί, ὡς ταύτης αἰτιωτέρας οὔσης. οὐ διετίζειν δέ, ἀλλ' ἐπέτειον εἶναι· τὴν δὲ χρείαν καὶ τὴν ἀκμὴν ἔχειν τοῦ ἦρος. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ' ἔνιοί γε ὡς σπερματικῆς οὔσης τῆς ἀρχῆς ὑπολαμβάνουσιν. ἐν γοῦν τῷ αἰγιαλῷ τῶν Μιτυληναίων οὔ φασι πρότερον εἶναι πρὶν ἢ γενομένης ἐπομβρίας τὸ σπέρμα κατενεχθῇ ἀπὸ Τιαρῶν· τοῦτο δ' ἐστὶ χωρίον ἐν ᾧ πολλὰ γίνεται. γίνεται δὲ ἔν τε τοῖς αἰγιαλοῖς μάλιστα καὶ ὅπου χώρα ὕπαμμος· καὶ γὰρ αἱ Τιάραι τοιαῦται. φύεται δὲ καὶ περὶ Λάμψακον ἐν τῇ Ἀβαρνίδι καὶ ἐν Ἀλωπεκοννήσῳ κἀν τῇ Ἠλείων.’ Λυγκεὺς ὁ Σάμιός φησιν· ‘ἀκαλήφην ἡ θάλασσα ἀνίησιν, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὕδνα.’ καὶ Μάτρων ὁ παρῳδὸς ἐν τῷ Δείπνῳ· ὄστρεά τ' ἤνεικεν, Θέτιδος Νηρηίδος ὕδνα. Δίφιλος δὲ δύσπεπτά φησιν εἶναι τὰ ὕδνα, εὔχυλα δὲ καὶ παραλεαντικά, προσέτι δὲ διαχωρητικά, καὶ ἔνια αὐτῶν ὁμοίως τοῖς μύκαις πνιγώδη εἶναι. Ἡγήσανδρος δ' ὁ Δελφὸς ἐν Ἑλλησπόντῳ φησὶν οὔτε ὕδνον γίνεσθαι οὔτε γλαυκίσκον οὔτε θύμον· διὸ Ναυσικλείδην εἰρηκέναι μήτε ἔαρ μήτε φίλους. ὑδνόφυλλον δέ φησι Πάμφιλος ἐν Γλώσσαις τὴν φυομένην τῶν ὕδνων ὕπερθε πόαν, ἀφ' ἧς τὸ ὕδνον γινώσκεσθαι.
Athenaeus of Naucratis, The Sophists at Dinner, 2.62
*γεράνειον geraneion – perhaps from geras = “old” and neios = “fallow land”?
8. Oribasius (4th century)
“On Truffles. They have no evident quality. That’s why people use them as a base for seasonings, just as they also use the other ones they call bland and watery in taste. They all share in common that their nutriment, when it gets distributed to the body, does not heat; instead, the nutriment is a bit cool, while in thickness it is similar to whatever was eaten, thicker when it comes from truffle, relatively more watery and thinner when it comes from the others.”
Περὶ ὕδνων. Οὐδεμίαν ἔχει σαφῆ ποιότητα· χρῶνται τοιγαροῦν αὐτοῖς πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν ἀρτυμάτων, ὥσπερ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὅσα καλοῦσιν ἄποια καὶ ὑδατώδη κατὰ τὴν γεῦσιν. ἔστι δ' ἁπάντων αὐτῶν κοινὸν ὡς μηδὲ τὴν ἀναδιδομένην τροφὴν εἰς τὸ σῶμα θερμαίνειν, ἀλλ' ὑπόψυχρον μὲν εἶναι, τῷ πάχει δ' ὁποῖον ἄν τι καὶ τὸ ἐδηδεσμένον <ᾖ>, παχύτερον μὲν ἐξ ὕδνου, ὑγρότερον δὲ καὶ λεπτότερον ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνάλογον.
Oribasius, Medical Collections, 2.24.1 (35,5–11 Raeder)
9. Aetius of Amida (6th century)
“Truffles possess a prevalent, quite earthy substance, with some fine material in with it.”
Ὕδνα γεωδεστέραν μὲν οὐσίαν ἐπικρατοῦσαν κέκτηται, βραχέος τινὸς αὐτῇ μιγνυμένου λεπτομεροῦς.
Aetius of Amida, Medical Books, 1.397 (142,6-7 Olivieri)
10. Paul of Aegina (7th century)
“On truffles (hydna) and mushrooms (mycetai). The truffle produces a quality-less humour, but it is rather cool and thick. Mushrooms are cold and produce phlegm and bad humours. From this group, the boleti are less harmful and quality-less when they are properly boiled, while the amanitai are of the second order.* One should stay away from the other mushrooms, since many people have died from them. Even the boleti themselves are often hazardous when eaten if they are not properly boiled.”
Περὶ ὕδνων καὶ μυκήτων. Τὸ ὕδνον ἄποιον μὲν ἔχει τὸν ἀναδιδόμενον ἐξ αὐτοῦ χυμόν, ψυχρότερον δὲ καὶ παχύχυμον. οἱ δὲ μυκῆται ψυχροί τέ εἰσι καὶ φλεγματώδεις καὶ κακόχυμοι· τούτων δὲ αὐτῶν οἱ μὲν βωλῖται ἀβλαβέστεροι καὶ ἄποιοι καλῶς ἑψηθέντες, οἱ δὲ ἀμανῖται δευτέρας εἰσὶ τάξεως. τῶν δὲ ἄλλων μυκήτων ἀπέχεσθαι δεῖ· πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπέθανον. καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ οἱ βωλῖται ἀνεφθότεροι ἐσθιόμενοι κινδύνου παραίτιοι πολλάκις γίνονται.
Paul of Aegina, 1.77 (56,1–8 Heiberg)
Commentary by Adams. On mushroom varieties, see Athenaeus, The Sophists at Dinner, 2.56–57
11. Anonymous (late byzantine source)
“On truffles. They are quality-less and watery in taste. They are similar to amanitai. The nutriment from them produce phlegm and is cold, and if someone eats too many it produces bad humour.”
Περὶ ὕδνων. Ἄποιά εἰσι καὶ ὑδατώδη κατὰ τὴν γεῦσιν. εἰσὶ δὲ παραπλήσια τοῖς ἀμανίταις. φλεγματώδης δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἐξ αὐτῶν τροφὴ καὶ ψυχρά, καὶ εἰ πλεονάσει τις ἐν αὐτοῖς κακόχυμος.
Anonymous, On Food, chapter 74
12. Pseudo-Hippocrates (late byzantine source)
“On vegetables. Truffles and amanitai and the artichoke are productive of bad humours, difficult to digest and productive of black bile.”
Περὶ λαχάνων. […] τὰ ὕδνα καὶ οἱ ἀμανῖται καὶ ἡ κινάρα κακόχυμα καὶ δύσπεπτα καὶ μελαγχολικά.
Pseudo-Hippocrates, On the Differences of Foods to Ptolemy (De alimentorum differentiis ad Ptolemaeum), 491,9–10 Delatte (in Anecdota Atheniensia 1939)
