''Gyroporus castaneus'', commonly known as the chestnut bolete, is a small, white-pored mushroom in the

Gyroporaceae The Gyroporaceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales. The family is monogeneric, containing the single genus ''Gyroporus'', which, according to a 2008 estimate, contains ten widely distributed species, though a more recent study suggest ...

of 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. ...

. It has a brown

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 ...

, and is usually found with

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

trees. It differs from the true boletes in that the

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s are a pale straw colour.

Taxonomy

The species was described initially by the French mycologist

Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard (; 24 November 1752 in Aubepierre-sur-Aube Haute-Marne – 26 September 1793 in Paris), also known simply as Pierre Bulliard, was a French physician and botanist. Bulliard studied in Langres, where he b ...

(1742–1792). Formerly a member of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Paxillaceae, research now places this mushroom in

. ''Gyroporus'' means 'having round pores', and ''castaneus'' is a reference to the chestnut colouration.

Description

The

is from 3 to 10 cm in diameter, and pale to rusty brown in colour, which becomes darker with age. The

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

is a similar colour, although it may be lighter at the apex. If the stem is cut vertically, it is usual to find several cavities of differing sizes inside. Both the cap and the stem have a tendency to crack or split in dry periods, or with age. The pores are small and white, yellowing with age, and are not attached to the stem. They darken slightly when pressed. The tubes are also whitish, and the

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. ...

is pale yellow to straw. The

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, ...

is firm, and does not change colour on cutting.

Distribution and habitat

The mushroom is found occasionally in Britain and throughout continental Europe, as well as eastern North America, but it is rare in western North America. It grows in small groups, or singly, in an

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobio ...

l relationship with oaks (''

Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

''). It prefers acid and sandy soils, and fruits from summer to autumn. In New Zealand, it is found in association with ''

Leptospermum ''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of ''Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greate ...

''. In Asia, it has been recorded from Taiwan. ''Gyroporus castaneus'' has been included in the

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

's and the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

's Red Book and several other countries' Red Lists, including those of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Edibility

''Gyroporus castaneus'' is edible and highly regarded by most authors. In 1987, Marcel Bon regarded it as suspect. There is also reportedly a

poisonous A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

strain of this mushroom in coastal Portugal.

References

External links