A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungal fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique cap. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surface with pores, instead of the gills typical of mushrooms. A similar pore surface is found in polypores, but these species generally have a different physical structure from boletes, and have different microscopic characteristics than boletes. Many polypores have much firmer, often woody, flesh.
Rubroboletus satanas, commonly known as Satan's bolete or the Devil's bolete, is a basidiomycete fungus of the bolete family (Boletaceae) and one of its most infamous members. It was known as Boletus satanas before its transfer to the new genus Rubroboletus in 2014, based on molecular phylogenetic data. Found in broad-leaved and mixed woodland in the warmer regions of Europe, it is classified as a poisonous mushroom, known to cause violent gastroenteritis. However, reports of poisoning are rare, due to the striking coloration and unpleasant odor of the fruiting bodies, which discourage experimentation.
Baorangia bicolor, also known as the two-colored bolete or red and yellow bolete after its two-tone coloring scheme of red and yellow, is an edible fungus in the genus Baorangia. It inhabits most of eastern North America, primarily east of the Rocky Mountains and in season during the summer and fall months but can be found across the globe in China and Nepal. Its fruit body, the mushroom, is classed as medium or large in size, which helps distinguish it from the many similar appearing species that have a smaller stature. A deep blue/indigo bruising of the pore surface and a less dramatic bruising coloration change in the stem over a period of several minutes are identifying characteristics that distinguish it from the similar poisonous species Boletus sensibilis. There are two variations of this species, variety borealis and variety subreticulatus, and several other similar species of fungi are not poisonous.
Hortiboletus rubellus, commonly known as the ruby bolete, is a small, dainty, brightly coloured member of the family Boletaceae, with a reddish cap and stipe, and yellow pores. Like many boletes, it stains blue when cut or bruised. It is found in deciduous woodland in autumn. There is some question over its edibility, and it is reportedly of poor quality with a taste of soap. Until 2015, the species was known as Boletus rubellus.
Exsudoporus frostii, commonly known as Frost's bolete or the apple bolete, is a bolete fungus first described scientifically in 1874. A member of the family Boletaceae, the mushrooms produced by the fungus have tubes and pores instead of gills on the underside of their caps. Exsudoporus frostii is distributed in the eastern United States from Maine to Georgia, and in the southwest from Arizona extending south to Mexico and Costa Rica. A mycorrhizal species, its fruit bodies are typically found growing near hardwood trees, especially oak.
Butyriboletus appendiculatus is an edible pored mushroom that grows under oaks and other broad leaved trees such as beech. It is commonly known as the butter bolete. It often grows in large colonies beneath the oak trees, and is frequently found cohabiting with old oaks in ancient woodland. It is relatively rare in Britain. Its stipe and pores are often bright yellow and its flesh stains bright blue when cut or bruised.
Suillus brevipes is a species of fungus in the family Suillaceae. First described by American mycologists in the late 19th century, it is commonly known as the stubby-stalk or the short-stemmed slippery Jack. The fruit bodies (mushrooms) produced by the fungus are characterized by a chocolate to reddish-brown cap covered with a sticky layer of slime, and a short whitish stipe that has neither a partial veil nor prominent, colored glandular dots. The cap can reach a diameter of about 10 cm, while the stipe is up to 6 cm long and 2 cm thick. Like other bolete mushrooms, S. brevipes produces spores in a vertically arranged layer of spongy tubes with openings that form a layer of small yellowish pores on the underside of the cap.
Suillellus amygdalinus is a fungus of the bolete family found in western North America. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, are characterized by their thick, red to brown caps, red pores, and the strong bluing reaction observed when the mushroom tissue is injured or cut. The cap can reach diameters of up to 12 cm (4.7 in) and the stipe 9 cm (3.5 in) long by 3 cm (1.2 in) thick at maturity. This mushroom has been found in manzanita and madrone woodlands of central California north to southern Oregon. Although the edibility of the mushroom is not known with certainty, it may be poisonous, and is not recommended for consumption. Other similar red-pored, bluing boletes from North America, including Rubroboletus eastwoodiae, Boletus luridiformis, and B. subvelutipes, can be distinguished from S. amygdalinus either by the color of the cap, the degree of reticulation on the stipe, or by location.
Leucoagaricus americanus, commonly known as the American parasol, is a mushroom in the genus Leucoagaricus, native to North America. It was first described by Charles Horton Peck, an American mycologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries, in 1869. It is widely distributed in North America, though more common east of the Rocky Mountains; it is saprobic, and grows on sawdust, on wood chips, on stumps, and on the ground.
Tylopilus tabacinus is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. It is characterized by a tawny-brown cap measuring up to 17.5 cm (6.9 in) in diameter, and a reticulated stem up to 16.5 cm (6.5 in) long by 6 cm (2.4 in) thick. A characteristic microscopic feature is the distinctive crystalline substance encrusted on the hyphae in the surface of the cap. The species is known from the eastern United States from Florida north to Rhode Island, and west to Mississippi, and from eastern Mexico. It is a mycorrhizal species, and associates with oak and beech trees.
Tylopilus alboater, called the black velvet bolete, by some, is a bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. The species is found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and in eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. A mycorrhizal species, it grows solitarily, scattered, or in groups on the ground usually under deciduous trees, particularly oak, although it has been recorded from deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests.
Boletus auripes, commonly known as the butter-foot bolete, is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. First described from New York in 1898, the fungus is found in eastern Asia, Central America, and eastern North America from Canada to Florida. It is a mycorrhizal species and typically grows in association with oak and beech trees.
Phylloporus arenicola is a species of bolete mushroom in the family Boletaceae. It is found in the Pacific Northwest region of western North America, where it grows in sand dunes in a mycorrhizal association with pine trees. It is one of only three North American Boletaceae species that occur in coastal sand dunes.
Xerocomus illudens is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. Described as new to science in 1898, it is found in Asia and North America, where it grows in a mycorrhizal association with oak.
Boletus subvelutipes, commonly known as the red-mouth bolete, is a bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. It is found in Asia and North America, where it fruits on the ground in a mycorrhizal association with both deciduous and coniferous trees. Its fruit bodies (mushrooms) have a brown to reddish-brown cap, bright yellow cap flesh, and a stem covered by furfuraceous to punctate ornamentation and dark red hairs at the base. Its flesh instantly stains blue when cut, but slowly fades to white. The fruit bodies are poisonous, causing gastroenteritis if consumed.
Boletus vermiculosus is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. Found in North America, it was described as new to science in 1872 by mycologist Charles Horton Peck.
Boletus variipes is a species of mycorrhizal bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae, native to North America. It was originally described by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck in 1888.
Boletus subluridellus is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. Described as new to science in 1971 by American mycologists, the bolete is found in the eastern United States and Canada. It grows on the ground in coniferous and mixed forests in a mycorrhizal association with deciduous trees, especially oak. The fruit bodies (mushrooms) have orangish-red, broadly convex caps that are up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter, with small, dark reddish pores on the underside. The pale yellow stipe measures 4–9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) long by 1.5–2.3 cm (0.6–0.9 in) thick. All parts of the fruit body will quickly stain blue when injured or touched.
Leccinellum rugosiceps, commonly known as the wrinkled Leccinum, is a species of bolete fungus. It is found in Asia, North America, Central America, and South America, where it grows in an ectomycorrhizal association with oak. Fruitbodies have convex, yellowish caps up to 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter. In age, the cap surface becomes wrinkled, often revealing white cracks. The stipe is up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long and 3 cm (1.2 in) wide, with brown scabers on an underlying yellowish surface. It has firm flesh that stains initially pinkish to reddish and then to grayish or blackish when injured. The pore surface on the cap underside is yellowish. Fruitbodies are edible, although opinions vary as to their desirability.
Aureoboletus betula is a species of mushroom producing fungus in the family Boletaceae. It is commonly known as the shaggy stalked bolete.
