TuberIndex: An open-access dataset of French-language literature on true truffles (Tuberaceae) and their ecology

TuberIndex is the first open-access dataset compiling literature on true truffles (Tuberaceae) and their ecology.Version 1.0 compiles five centuries of French-language literature on Tuberaceae, documenting the rich diversity of truffle–plant and truffle–fungi interactions reported in technical reports, academic works, and popular writings. TuberIndex is described in a Data Descriptor published in Scientific Data (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07097-3). If you use this dataset, please cite both the associated publication and the specific dataset version available on Zenodo (DOI). The dataset indexes 493 documents and reports 3,508 records of ecological interactions involving 26 truffle taxa, 418 plant taxa, and 53 fungal taxa. Each interaction is compiled with various metadata, including information on the effect of the interaction on the truffle and the role of the interactor. It is organized into three main CSV files (bibliographic data, interaction data, and taxonomy reference), complemented by a BibTeX export and a raw archive to ensure transparency and reproducibility. TuberIndex aims to support scientific research by providing a comprehensive resource on truffle–plant and truffle–fungi interactions, while also enhancing knowledge transfer to practitioners in truffle cultivation. The dataset is released under a CC BY 4.0 licence to ensure open reusability for research, education, and practice. Perspectives TuberIndex has been designed to be easily and continuously upgraded to provide a comprehensive state of the art related to truffle knowledge in its native of introduction range. As an example, one immediate perspective consists in including interactions between fauna and true truffles from the analysed corpus.We invite scientists as well a larger public range of actors to further enrich the dataset with original documents and extracted data by contacting the corresponding author, in line with the future perspectives of the dataset. We plan to compile documents from Spain and Italy, two countries with a long-standing practice and important tradition of truffle cultivation. To develop the indexing of French literature, we will continue to enrich the library with original documents, identified by the truffle grower network. We also plan to index numerous historical documents that are not yet inventoried in the Institut Agro of Montpellier. Researchers and practitioners interested in contributing data or participating in the development of TuberIndex are warmly encouraged to contact the corresponding author. Contact (corresponding author): [e-mail] Alternative contact: [e-mail]