''Xerocomellus chrysenteron'', formerly known as ''Boletus chrysenteron'' or ''Xerocomus chrysenteron'' and commonly known as the red cracking bolete, is a species of fungus in the family

Boletaceae The Boletaceae are a Family (biology), family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenium, hymenial surface (at the underside of the mushroom), instead of Lamella (mycology), gills as are found ...

. The small mushroom has tubes and pores instead of

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 ...

beneath their

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

. It is

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from " eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

but not choice.

Taxonomy

This mushroom was first described and named as ''Boletus communis'' in 1789 by the eminent French botanist

Jean Baptiste Francois Pierre Bulliard Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

. Two years later, in 1791, it was given the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''chrysenteron'' by the same author, the species name coming from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words ''khrysos'' "gold" and ''enteron'' "innards". In 1888, Lucien Quelet placed it in the new genus ''Xerocomus'', retaining the ''chrysenteron'' epithet. This binomial was generally accepted until 1985 when

Marcel Bon Marcel Bon (17 March 1925 – 11 May 2014) was one of France's best known field mycologists. He was born in Picardy in 1925 and came to mycology through general botany, and pharmacology. He lived at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, a quaint little town ...

decided to resurrect the former specific epithet ''communis'', which resulted in the binomial ''Xerocomus communis''. While it recently resided back in the genus ''Boletus'', a
''B. chrysenteron''
Bull., recent

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

analysis supports its placement as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the new genus ''

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 ...

'', described by Šutara in 2008.

Description

Young specimens often have a dark, dry surface, and

tomentose Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

. When fully expanded, the brownish cap ranges from in diameter with very little substance and thin flesh that turns a blue color when slightly cut or bruised. The caps mature to convex and plane in old age. Cracks in the mature cap reveal a thin layer of light red flesh below the skin. The 1 to 2 cm-diameter stems have no

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

, are mostly bright yellow and the lower part is covered in coral-red

fibril Fibrils () are structural biological materials found in nearly all living organisms. Not to be confused with fibers or protein filament, filaments, fibrils tend to have diameters ranging from 10 to 100 nanometers (whereas fibers are micro to ...

s and has a constant elliptical to fusiform diameter throughout its length of 4 to 13 cm. The cream-colored stem flesh turns blue when cut. The species has large, yellow, angular pores, and produces an olive brown

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...

Similar species

''Xerocomellus chrysenteron'' cannot be identified with certainty without the aid of a microscope, as many intermediate forms occur between it and other taxa, in particular, some forms of '' Boletus pruinatus'' and '' Hortiboletus rubellus''. '' B. porosporus'' is also similar to this species, but it is easily separated on account of the whitish under layer and truncate (chopped off) spores. This species is also easily confused with ''B. cisalpinus'', '' B. declivitatum'', '' B. dryophilus'', '' B. mirabilis'', '' B. truncatus'', and ''B. zelleri''. The caps are similar to ''

Imleria badia ''Imleria badia'', commonly known as the bay bolete, is a species of pored mushroom. First described scientifically by Elias Fries in 1818, the bay bolete was reclassified as ''Xerocomus badius'' in 1931, and it is still listed thus in sev ...

'', the bay bolete.

Distribution and habitat

''Xerocomellus chrysenteron'' grows singly or in small groups in

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

woods from early summer to mid-winter. It is

mycorrhiza 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 ...

l with hardwood trees, often

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

on well-drained soils. It is frequent in parts of the northern

temperate zones In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

. The species has been recorded in Taiwan. It has been introduced to New Zealand, where it grows in groups under introduced deciduous trees. This species may not be as common as once thought, having been often mistaken for the recently recognised ''B. cisalpinus'' Simonini, Ladurner & Peintner.

Ecology

The fruit bodies of ''X. chrysenteron'' are prone to infestation by the bolete eater (''

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 ...

'').

Edibility

''Xerocomellus chrysenteron'' is considered

but not desirable due to bland flavor and soft texture. The pores are recommended to be removed immediately after mushrooms are picked as they rapidly decay. Young fungi are palatable and suitable for drying, but they become slimy when cooked; mature specimens are rather tasteless and decay quickly.

Gallery

Xerocomus_chrysenteron_a1.jpg, Maturing specimens Bol.chrys.jpg, Specimens with large yellow pores Xerocomellus chrysenteron, Edible fungi in basket 2013 G1.jpg, Picked mushrooms in basket Mold boletus chrysenteron rotfussroehrling.jpg, Mold growing on old specimen Boletus chrysenteron (Red Cracking Bolete).JPG, Mature picked specimens Red Cracking Bolete (Boletus chrysenteron) spore print.JPG, Spore print

References

External links

* *
''Xerocomus chrysenteron''About: ''Xerocomus chrysenteron'' (Bull.) Quél.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q254161 Boletaceae Fungi of Asia Fungi of Europe Fungi of New Zealand Fungi of North America Edible fungi Fungi described in 1789 Taxa named by Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard Fungus species