Another one nearby:
I noticed these guys while walking my dog around the apartment. At first, I thought they were roots for the bushes they were in between, but then my husky stepped on one, crushing it and showing me it was some kind of mushroom. I don't know shit about mushrooms, but they do look unlike anything I've seen growing wild (especially in a city), and the only thing they look close to that I do know is a truffle. But surely they aren't truffles? In an apartment complex?
True truffles only grow underground.
Does that mean only in caves or does it include simply being under the dirt?
I don’t think they will grow in caves either—just buried in the soil, typically beneath certain types of trees that they are symbiotic with. Usually you need a dog or pig that can smell where they are to harvest them. Very difficult to find as a smell impaired human without some extra help.