''Leccinum'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of fungi 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 ...

. It was the name given first to a series of fungi within the genus ''

Boletus ''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. ...

'', then erected as a new genus last century. Their main distinguishing feature is the small, rigid projections (scabers) that give a rough texture to their stalks. The genus name was coined from the Italian ''Leccino'', for a type of rough-stemmed bolete. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in north

temperate 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 ...

regions, and contains about 75 species.

Description

Fruit bodies of ''Leccinum'' species have a slender stipe that is ornamented lengthwise with brown to black, scab-like scales on the surface. The stipe itself is colored white or cream and usually longer than the diameter of the cap. When injured, the stipe either remains unchanged in color or stains blue or red. The

hymenophore A hymenophore refers to the hymenium-bearing structure of a fungal fruiting body. Hymenophores can be smooth surfaces, lamellae, folds, tubes, or teeth. The term was coined by Robert Hooke Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an ...

is colored yellow or off-white, consists of thin and ventricose tubes that are longer than the thickness of the cap, and has small pores. The

basidiospore A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromos ...

s are long and smooth as compared to other mushrooms. The European species of ''Leccinum'' can be identified by a scaled stipe with pale brown, white, or yellow spores. Additionally, if a

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...

is present, it usually contains yellow-tinted pigments.

Ecology and habitat

The mushrooms of the Leccinum genus are found worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica. The genus was first proposed by Gray in 1821 based on Leccinum aurantiacum and as a generic scientific name for boletes, often found in Europe and North America. ''Leccinum'' species are generally found in the woodlands of

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, and North America, forming

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 associations with trees. Most ''Leccinum'' species are mycorrhizal specialists, associating with trees of a single genus. For example, ''L. atrostipitatum'' associate exclusively with plants of ''Betula'' family that are colloquially known as birch trees. ''L. vulpinum'' are found only associated with the ''

Pinaceae The Pinaceae (), or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as Cedrus, cedars, firs, Tsuga, hemlocks, Pinyon_pine, piñons, larches, pines and spruces. The family is incl ...

'' or pine gumtree family. ''

Leccinum aurantiacum ''Leccinum aurantiacum'' is a species of fungus in the genus '' Leccinum'' found in forests of Eurasia and North America. It has a large, characteristically red-capped fruiting body. In North America, it is sometimes referred to by the common n ...

'' is an exception, however, occurring in mycorrhizal association with

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, poplar, and

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 ...

. Other species that form an exception to that rule, such as ''L. quercinum'' and ''L. scabrum'', have been described as popular edible mushrooms in China. Currently, the ''Leccinum'' genus comprises about 150 species, 118 of which have been identified in North America. Much of the important work in describing this genus has been carried out in Michigan, where 68 species have been described. In Central America, 12 species have been identified: 1 from

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, 8 from

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, and 3 from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. In Europe, the ''Leccinum'' genus was originally divided into 4 sections: the 2 known sections of ''L. sect. Luteoscabra'' and ''L. sect. Leccinum'', and the 2 newly proposed sections of ''L. sect. Roseoscabra'' and ''L. sect. Eximia''. However, the former ''L. sect. Scabra'' has been merged to ''L. sect. Leccinum''. Additionally, molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that species of ''L. sect. Luteoscabra'', ''L. sect. Roseoscabra'', and ''L. sect. Eximia'' belong to divergent

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

groups of Boletaceae and represent new genera. Thus, the ''Leccinum'' genus is restricted to the ''Leccinum'' section, meaning that there are 16 documented species in Europe. In the Southern Hemisphere, 4 species of ''Leccinum'' have been reported, 1 from New Zealand and 3 from Australia. In Asia, 47 species have been identified: 6 from Malaysia, 10 from Japan, and 31 from China. Out of these 31 Chinese species, 12 have been ascertained to other genera, 8 were reported without specimen support, 11 and were reported with specimen citations. Out of these 11, only ''L. subleucophaeum var. minimum'' was unique to China. The other 10 share sufficient general morphological traits to species identified in Europe and North America to be considered the same species. However, even though the species do appear to overlap, they have evolved independently from their European and North American counterparts. Therefore, identification of the Chinese ''Leccinum'' species requires further confirmation.

Culinary value

They have generally been presumed to be

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 ...

for the most part, but there are reports of

poisoning Poisoning is the harmful effect which occurs when Toxicity, toxic substances are introduced into the body. The term "poisoning" is a derivative of poison, a term describing any chemical substance that may harm or kill a living organism upon ...

after eating unidentified members of the genus in North America, even after thorough cooking. The orange- to red-capped species, including ''L. insigne'', are suspected. Species of ''Leccinum'' often cause nausea and vomiting when consumed raw or insufficiently cooked.

Selected species

There are over 130 species recognised including:

References

External links

* Includes key. * Includes key to North American species. * Includes ''Leccinum'' species. * {{Taxonbar , from=Q573152 Boletales genera