The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. The Boletales are now known to contain distinct groups of agarics, puffballs, and other fruiting-body types.
The Boletaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenial surface, instead of gills as are found in most agarics. Nearly as widely distributed as the agarics, the family is renowned for hosting some prime edible species highly sought after by mushroom hunters worldwide, such as the cep or king bolete . A number of rare or threatened species are also present in the family, that have become the focus of increasing conservation concerns. As a whole, the typical members of the family are commonly known as boletes.
Boletus is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi, comprising over 100 species. The genus Boletus was originally broadly defined and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, essentially containing all fungi with hymenial pores instead of gills. Since then, other genera have been defined gradually, such as Tylopilus by Petter Adolf Karsten in 1881, and old names such as Leccinum have been resurrected or redefined. Some mushrooms listed in older books as members of the genus have now been placed in separate genera. These include such as Boletus scaber, now Leccinum scabrum, Tylopilus felleus, Chalciporus piperatus and Suillus luteus. Most boletes have been found to be ectomycorrhizal fungi, which means that they form a mutualistic relationship with the roots system of certain kinds of plants. More recently, Boletus has been found to be massively polyphyletic, with only a small percentage of the over 300 species that have been assigned to Boletus actually belonging there and necessitating the description and resurrection of many more genera.
Chalciporus piperatus, commonly known as the peppery bolete, is a small pored mushroom of the family Boletaceae found in mixed woodland in Europe and North America. It has been recorded under introduced trees in Brazil, and has become naturalised in Tasmania and spread under native Nothofagus cunninghamii trees. A small bolete, the fruit body has a 1.6–9 cm orange-fawn cap with cinnamon to brown pores underneath, and a 4–9.5 cm high by 0.6–1.2 cm thick stipe. The flesh has a very peppery taste. The rare variety hypochryseus, found only in Europe, has yellow pores and tubes.
Suillellus luridus, commonly known as the lurid bolete, is a fungus of the family Boletaceae, found in calcareous broadleaved woodlands in Europe. Fruit bodies appear in summer and autumn and may be locally abundant. It is a firm bolete with an olive-brown cap up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter, with small orange or red pores on the underside. The stout ochre stem reaches 8–14 cm (3–6 in) high and 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) wide, and is patterned with a red network. Like several other red-pored boletes, it stains blue when bruised or cut.
Boletus barrowsii, also known in English as the white king bolete after its pale colored cap, is an edible and highly regarded fungus in the genus Boletus that inhabits western North America. Found under ponderosa pine and live oak in autumn, it was considered a color variant of the similarly edible B. edulis for many years.
Boletus rex-veris, commonly known as the spring king bolete, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Boletus found in western North America. The large, edible fruiting bodies known as mushrooms appear under pine trees, generally in May to June. It has a pinkish to brownish cap and its stem is often large and swollen, and the overall colour may have an orange-red tinge. As with other boletes, the size of the fruiting body is variable. Boletus rex-veris is edible, and may be preserved and cooked.
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.
Aureoboletus mirabilis, commonly known as the admirable bolete, the bragger's bolete, and the velvet top, is an edible species of fungus in the Boletaceae mushroom family. The fruit body has several characteristics with which it may be identified: a dark reddish-brown cap; yellow to greenish-yellow pores on the undersurface of the cap; and a reddish-brown stem with long narrow reticulations. Aureoboletus mirabilis is found in coniferous forests along the Pacific Coast of North America, and in Asia. Unusual for boletes, A. mirabilis sometimes appears to fruit on the wood or woody debris of Hemlock trees, suggesting a saprobic lifestyle. Despite the occasional appearances to the contrary, Aureoboletus mirabilis is mycorrhizal, and forms a close association with the tree's roots.
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.
Boletus regineus, commonly known as the queen bolete, is an edible and highly regarded fungus of the genus Boletus that inhabits southwestern North America. It was considered a variant of the similarly edible B. edulis for many years until declared a unique species in 2008. Phylogenetic analysis has shown B. regineus as a member of a clade, or closely related group, with B. subcaerulescens, Gastroboletus subalpinus, B. pinophilus, B. fibrillosus, and B. rex-veris.
Caloboletus rubripes, commonly known as the red-stipe bolete or the red-stemmed bitter bolete, is a mushroom in the family Boletaceae. It was known as Boletus rubripes until 2014. Fruit bodies (mushrooms) are robust, with caps up to 18 cm in diameter, atop thick stipes 5–12 cm long. Mushrooms are non-toxic, but is so bitter as to be inedible. The mushroom flesh has a very strong bluing reaction when cut or damaged. and forms mycorrhizal relationships, primarily with conifers. It can be differentiated from similar boletes by its cap color and non-reticulate stipe.
Boletus fibrillosus, commonly known as the fib king, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Boletus found in western North America. The fruiting bodies are found in mixed coastal forests in the fall, usually singly or in small groups. The cap is up to 17 cm wide, buff to brown to dark brown in color, and has a wrinkled to finely fibrous texture. The tubes are yellow, while the flesh is white to buff and does not stain when cut. The stem is yellowish at the top, brown otherwise, with a reticulate texture, and mycelium enshrouding the bottom. The holotype was collected in Mendocino County, California. The species is edible, but considered to have inferior taste to other edible boletes such as B. edulis, which it is often confused with.
Boletus subcaerulescens is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Boletus found in northeastern North America. The fruiting bodies are found associated with pine and spruce. The cap is up to 18 cm wide, convex to flat, and brown in color. The tubes are yellow and stain blue when bruised, while the flesh is white to buff and does not stain when cut. The stem is brown like the cap and has a light-colored reticulate texture.
Gastroboletus amyloideus is a species of fungus in the family Boletaceae. The species was first described scientifically in 1969 by American mycologist Harry Delbert Thiers. Characterized by its amyloid spore staining reaction, the fungus is found in California.
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.
Harrya chromapes, commonly known as the yellowfoot bolete or the chrome-footed bolete, is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. The bolete is found in eastern North America, Costa Rica, and eastern Asia, where it grows on the ground, in a mycorrhizal association with deciduous and coniferous trees. Fruit bodies have smooth, rose-pink caps that are initially convex before flattening out. The pores on the cap undersurface are white, aging to a pale pink as the spores mature. The thick stipe has fine pink or reddish dots (scabers), and is white to pinkish but with a bright yellow base. The mushrooms are edible but are popular with insects, and so they are often infested with maggots.
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.
