A bolete is a type of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

, or

fungal A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; 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 one of the tradit ...

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 cyc ...

. It can be identified thanks to a unique

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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

. 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. A similar pore surface is found in

polypore Polypores, also called bracket or shelf fungi, are a morphological group of basidiomycete-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi that form large fruiting bodies called conks, which are typically woody, circular, shelf- or bracket-shaped, ...

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. "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 con ...

for fungus species with caps that have this appearance. Some, but not all boletes bruise blue.

Taxonomy

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. ...

. However, 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 (when mature) bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass sever ...

, and other fruit body shapes. Examples of these fungi include ''

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 includ ...

'', ''

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

'', ''

Phylloporus ''Phylloporus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae (suborder (biology), suborder Boletineae). The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and contains about 50 species, mostly in tropical areas. Species References External links

...

'', ''

Paxillus ''Paxillus'' is a genus of mushrooms of which most are known to be poisonous mushroom, poisonous or inedible. Species include ''Paxillus involutus'' and ''Paxillus vernalis''. Two former species—''Tapinella panuoides'' and ''Tapinella atrotomen ...

, Tapinella,'' '' Hygrophoropsis'', and ''

Scleroderma Scleroderma is a group of autoimmune diseases that may result in changes to the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. The disease can be either localized to the skin or involve other organs, as well. Symptoms may include areas ...

.'' The genus ''Boletus'' was originally broadly defined and described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753, containing all pored mushrooms. Since then, gradually other genera have been defined, such as ''

Tylopilus ''Tylopilus'' is a genus of over 100 species of mycorrhizal bolete fungi separated from '' Boletus''. Its best known member is the bitter bolete (''Tylopilus felleus''), the only species found in Europe. More species are found in North America, ...

'' by Karsten in 1881, and old names such as ''

Leccinum ''Leccinum'' is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae. It was the name given first to a series of fungi within the genus '' Boletus'', then erected as a new genus last century. Their main distinguishing feature is the small, rigid projection ...

'' and ''

Suillus ''Suillus'' is a genus of basidiomycete fungi in the family Suillaceae and order Boletales. Species in the genus are associated with trees in the pine family (Pinaceae), and are mostly distributed in temperate locations in the Northern Hemisphe ...

'' resurrected or redefined. Recently, the genus ''Boletus'' has been split up even more, creating new genera, such as ''

Xerocomellus ''Xerocomellus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae. The genus, as it was described in 2008, contained 12 species. However ''Hortiboletus rubellus, X. rubellus'' and ''Hortiboletus engelii, X. engelii'' were transferred to the new gen ...

'' and '' Caloboletus''.

Ecology

Most boletes are

mycorrhizal A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

and are generally found in woodlands. There is also a parasitic bolete, '' Pseudoboletus parasiticus'', which grows on ''

Scleroderma citrinum ''Scleroderma citrinum'', commonly known as the common earthball, pigskin poison puffball, or common earth ball, is a species of earthball fungus found in Europe and in North America. It is the most common species of Scleroderma (genus), earthba ...

.'' Another parasitic bolete is '' Buchwaldoboletus lignicola'', which is a parasite to '' Phaeolus schweinitzii'', the dyer's polypore. Boletes are susceptible to infection by the fungus ''

Hypomyces chrysospermus ''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 West ...

'', also known as the bolete eater.

Edibility

Many boletes, such as the porcini ''(

Boletus edulis ''Boletus edulis'' (English: cep, penny bun, porcino) is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus ''Boletus''. It is prized as an edible mushroom. The fungus produces Basidiospore, spore-bearing basidiocarp, fruit bodies ...

)'', are edible and considered a delicacy. However, other boletes, such as ''

'' and ''

'' are considered edible, but not choice. Some boletes, such as '' Caloboletus'' and ''

'' are too bitter to eat. Other boletes, such as ones in the '' Rubroboletus'' genus, such as Satan's bolete ('' Rubroboletus satanas'') are dangerously poisonous. Most poisonous boletes have red pores. Some boletes appear to be hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms. One known bolete species that might be hallucinogenic is '' Boletus manicus''.

References

{{Reflist

External links

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