{{refimprove, date=July 2020 Boletus edulis EtgHollande 041031 091

A bolete is a type of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

, or

fungal A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

fruiting body The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cy ...

. It can be identified thanks to a unique mushroom

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

. The cap is clearly different from the

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushr ...

. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surface with pores, instead of the

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

typical of mushrooms. However, there are some boletes that are gilled, such as species of ''

Chroogomphus ''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 inclu ...

'', ''

Gomphidius ''Gomphidius'' is a genus of mushrooms, commonly known as spike-caps, that are members of the Boletales (suborder Suillineae), or pored fungi. They appear to have gill-like structures which resemble those of agarics, however the similarity is su ...

'', ''

Paxillus ''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 ...

'', ''

Phylloporus ''Phylloporus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae (suborder Boletineae). The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and contains about 50 species, mostly in tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. ...

'' and ''

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca ''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 gar ...

''. "Bolete" is the English

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

for fungus species whose mushroom caps have this appearance. The boletes are classified in the order

Boletales 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 ...

. Not all members of the order Boletales are boletes. The micromorphology and

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

of the order Boletales have established that it also contains many gilled,

puffball Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that bursts on impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores when mature. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including '' Calvatia'', '' ...

, and other fruit body shapes. A similar pore surface is found in

polypore Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polyp ...

s, 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. Boletes are susceptible to infection by the fungus ''Hypomyces chrysospermus'', also known as the ''

bolete eater ''Hypomyces chrysospermus'', the bolete eater, is a parasitic ascomycete fungus that grows on bolete mushrooms, turning the afflicted host a whitish, golden yellow, or tan color. It is found in Eurasia and North America, as well as southwest Wes ...

''.

External links

"Evolution & Morphology in the Homobasidiomycetes" by Gary Lincoff & Michael Wood, ''MykoWeb.com''
Mushroom types Fungal morphology and anatomy

Boletes {{refimprove, date=July 2020 A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungal fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique mushroom cap. The cap is clearly different from the stem. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surfa ...

Basidiomycota cs:Hřib