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.
Tylopilus is a genus of over 100 species of mycorrhizal bolete fungi separated from Boletus. Its best known member is the bitter bolete, the only species found in Europe. More species are found in North America, such as the edible species T. alboater. Australia is another continent where many species are found. All members of the genus form mycorrhizal relationships with trees. Members of the genus are distinguished by their pinkish pore surfaces.
Paxillus is a genus of mushrooms of which most are known to be poisonous or inedible. Species include Paxillus involutus and Paxillus vernalis. Two former species—Tapinella panuoides and Tapinella atrotomentosa—have now been transferred to the related genus Tapinella in the family Tapinellaceae
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, commonly known as the false chanterelle, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It is found across several continents, growing in woodland and heathland, and sometimes on woodchips used in gardening and landscaping. Fruit bodies (mushrooms) are yellow–orange, with a funnel-shaped cap up to 8 cm across that has a felt-like surface. The thin, often forked gills on the underside of the cap run partway down the length of the otherwise smooth stipe. Reports on the mushroom's edibility vary – it is considered poisonous, but has historically been eaten internationally.
The Hygrophoropsidaceae are a family of mushrooms that are gilled in appearance but lie within the Boletales. The family contains 18 species within two genera: Leucogyrophana and Hygrophoropsis, with the best-known member being the "false chanterelle", Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca. Hygrophoropsidaceae was circumscribed by French mycologist Robert Kühner in 1980, with Hygrophoropsis as the type genus. Unlike most members of the Boletales, Hygrophoropsidaceae species are saprophytic wood-rotting fungi that cause brown rot in their hosts. The genera Austropaxillus and Tapinella, once placed in this family, are now classified in the Serpulaceae and Tapinellaceae, respectively.
Gomphidius is a genus of mushrooms, commonly known as spike-caps, that are members of the Boletales, or pored fungi. They appear to have gill-like structures which resemble those of agarics, however the similarity is superficial only. The best-known member is the slimy spike-cap. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in north temperate areas, and contains 10 species.
Chroogomphus is a genus of mushrooms commonly known as pine-spikes or spike-caps based on their shape and because they are often found growing in association with pine trees. The genus is distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere including North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.
The Suillaceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales, containing the boletus-like Suillus, the small truffle-like Truncocolumella, as well as the monotypic genus Psiloboletinus. As of 2008, there are 54 species in the family. Gastrosuillus, once considered a distinct genus, has been shown with molecular analysis to be a recent evolutionary derivative of Suillus. Fuscoboletinus, described by Pomerleau and Smith in 1962, has also been subsumed into Suillus.
Scleroderma is a genus of fungi, commonly known as earth balls, now known to belong to the Boletales order, in suborder Sclerodermatineae. The best known species are S. citrinum and S. verrucosum. They are found worldwide. Various members of this genus are used as inoculation symbionts to colonize and promote the growth of tree seedlings in nurseries. They are not edible.
Gyrodon is a genus of pored mushroom bearing close affinity to the genus Paxillus. Recent molecular research has confirmed this relationship of the two genera as sister taxa, together diverging as one of the most basal lineages in the Boletineae, and sister to the Boletaceae.
Pisolithus is a genus of fungi within the family Sclerodermataceae.
Phlebopus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletinellaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution in subtropical and pantropical regions, and contains 12 species. The species are saprobic, with some possibly able to form mycorrhizae with exotic trees in certain conditions. It contains the gigantic Phlebopus marginatus, the cap of which can reach 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter.
Boletinellus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletinellaceae. The genus was first described by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill in 1909.
Truncocolumella is a genus of fungi in the family Suillaceae, of the order Boletales. It was circumscribed by American mycologist Sanford Myron Zeller in 1939. One field guide lists the potato-like Truncocolumella citrina as edible.
Hygrophoropsis is a genus of gilled fungi in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It was circumscribed in 1888 to contain the type species, H. aurantiaca, a widespread fungus that, based on its appearance, has been affiliated with Cantharellus, Clitocybe, and Paxillus. Modern molecular phylogenetic analysis shows that the genus belongs to the suborder Coniophorineae of the order Boletales.
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.
Aphroditeola is an agaric fungal monotypic genus that produces pink cantharelloid fruit bodies on coniferous forest floors. The lamellae are forked and typically the fruit bodies have a fragrant odor described as candy-like, cinnamon-like or pink bubble gum-like.
Imperator luteocupreus is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. It is native to southern Europe, where it is found under chestnut (Castanea) and oak (Quercus). Although it was originally described in genus Boletus, it was placed in the new genus Imperator in 2015, based on phylogenetic inferences.
