''Boletus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 t ...

-producing

fungi 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 ...

, comprising over 100 species. The genus ''Boletus'' was originally broadly defined and described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1753, essentially containing all fungi with hymenial pores instead of gills. Since then, other genera have been defined gradually, such as '' Tylopilus'' by

Petter Adolf Karsten Petter Adolf Karsten (16 February 1834 – 22 March 1917) was a Finnish mycologist, the foremost expert on the fungi of Finland in his day, and known in consequence as the "father of Finnish mycology". Karsten was born in Merimasku near Turku, st ...

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 projections ...

'' have been resurrected or redefined. Some mushrooms listed in older books as members of the genus have now been placed in separate genera. These include such as ''Boletus scaber'', now '' Leccinum scabrum'', '' Tylopilus felleus'', '' Chalciporus piperatus'' and '' Suillus luteus''. Most boletes have been found to be ectomycorrhizal fungi, which mean that they form a mutualistic relationship with the roots system of certain kinds of plants. More recently, ''Boletus'' has been found to be massively polyphyletic, with only a small percentage of the over 300 species that have been assigned to ''Boletus'' actually belonging there and necessitating the description and resurrection of many more genera. The name is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

term ''bōlētus'' 'mushroom' from the

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

, ', ultimately from , ' 'lump' or 'clod'. However, the of

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...

is thought to have been the much prized ''

Amanita caesarea ''Amanita caesarea'', commonly known as Caesar's mushroom, is a highly regarded edible mushroom in the genus ''Amanita'', native to southern Europe and North Africa. While it was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1772, this mus ...

''.

Phylogenetic tree of ''Boletus''

source:

Edibility

The genus ''Boletus'' contains many members which are edible, such as '' Boletus edulis'', ''

Boletus aereus ''Boletus aereus'', the dark cep or bronze bolete, is a highly prized and much sought-after edible mushroom in the family Boletaceae. The bolete is widely consumed in Spain ( Basque Country and Navarre), France, Italy, Greece, and generally ...

'' and '' Boletus barrowsii''. Boletes with red pores may be toxic.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Boletales genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Phylogenetic tree of ''Boletus''

Edibility

See also

References

External links