Mycological Garden
A unique garden in Europe
The Mycological Garden “La Trufa”, which is the first and the only mycological garden in Europe, is located in the small village of Priego named Zagrilla, in the Natural Park Parque Natural de las Sierras Subbéticas and it has this name owing to the summer truffle. This truffle is a truffle specie similar to the black truffle and it is stuck on the oak groves having less vegetation than the oak groves where the black truffle is. Moreover, this truffle is adapted to a largest range of temperature and less precipitations than black truffles.
This unique and lovely space is declared UNESCO Global Geopark with the recognition of Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the Birds Directive or Special Protection Areas (SPA), which both of them form a network called Natura 2000.
The Mycological Garden is divided in 8 areas, where the most representative ecosystems of Andalusia have been recreated, such as: pine forest, cork, oak, pastureland and riverside forest, among others.
The Mycological Garden is divided in 8 areas, where the most representative ecosystems of Andalusia have been recreated, such as: pine forest, cork, oak, pastureland and riverside forest, among others.
Visiting this museum, you can learn about a part of the flora, vegetation and fungi of this region. There are endangered flora species, common species of the principal vegetations in Andalusia and crops, such as chesnut groves or nut trees. Besides, there is a exhibition of wild Andalusian fungi such as mushrooms, blue foot, Jew’s ear, shaggy ink caps, differents Boletus. All these species of fungi are the proof of the symbiosis among plants, mushrooms and lifestyle of saprophytes and parasites. To sum up, it is a regional exhibiton of fungi in Andalusia, one of the European regions having a great variety of fungi.
After walking by the garden, do not forget to visit two exhibition rooms and an interactive gallery with panels and interactive elements in which you can learn about fungi of this region, its lyfestyle, its importance in the harmony of the ecosystems, relationships between fungi and people and the basis for the study of its characteristics, besides of basic advices for good practices of compilation and diverses informations of this kingdom.
This building also houses the Andalusian Centre of Mycology with two areas: an area where we can learn about the production of fungi with a laboratory of mycorrhization and production; and a technical area where we can find a library of fungi information; besides other working areas. There is also an audiovisual room with a capacity of 150 people and a workshop of education and formation about fungi in which there are training and environmental education activities for all ages; if you are interested in this, do not hesitate to research.
In addition to all these informations, in the Mycological Garden you will find an interesting exhibition of gigant mushrooms and fungi sculptures created by the Sevillian artist Marcos Domínguez Alonso, in which the most attractive one is situated at the entrance of the centre, Armillaria Mellea, made in Bronze, or acorns or summer truffles; the Myriostoma Coliforme (“seta salero”), situated at the entrance of the garden; or the Anmanita Ponderosa made from limestone and located in the Ecosystem Area.
This equipment, created in the program Plan de Conservación y Uso Sostenible de las Setas y Trufas de Andalucía (“Plan CUSSTA”) by the Ministry for Environment and Territory in collaboration with the Town Council of Priego de Córdoba, is incorporated to the Andalusian Botanic Gardens Network (“Red Andaluza de Jardines Botánicos y Micológico en Espacios Naturales”), which meant to promote the knowledge of mycology, the mycological activity and the tourism of mycology, as well as the conservation of mycological resources and endangered fungi species of Andalusia.