''Imperator luteocupreus'' is a species of

bolete {{refimprove, date=July 2020 A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungal fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique mushroom cap. The cap is clearly different from the stem. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surf ...

fungus in the family

Boletaceae The Boletaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenial surface (at the underside of the mushroom), instead of gills as are found in most agarics. Nearly as widely distributed ...

. It is native to southern Europe, where it is found under chestnut ('' Castanea'') and oak (''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...

''). Although it was originally described in 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 ...

'', it was placed in the new genus '' Imperator'' in 2015, based on phylogenetic inferences. Mycologists Paul Bertéa and Alain Estadès described this species as ''Boletus luteocupreus'' in 1990. The type specimen had been collected by Estadès in 1986 from the Lachau commune in the

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

department of southeastern France. In a molecular analysis of Boletaceae

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...

, ''Boletus luteocupreus'' was most closely related to '' B. torosus''; these two species formed a clade that was

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to '' B. luridus''. Genetic analysis published in 2013 showed that ''B. luteocupreus'' and many (but not all) red-pored boletes were part of a ''dupainii'' clade (named for '' B. dupainii''), well-removed from the core group of ''

Boletus edulis ''Boletus edulis'' (English: cep, penny bun, porcino or porcini) is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus ''Boletus''. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere across Europe, Asia, and North America, it does not occu ...

'' (the

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specime ...

of genus ''Boletus'') and relatives within the

Boletineae The Boletineae are a suborder of the fungal order Boletales. Families in the Boletineae include the Boletaceae and the Paxillaceae. Taxa *Paxillaceae **'' Alpova'' **'' Austrogaster'' **'' Gyrodon'' **'' Hydnomerulius'' **'' Meiorganum'' **'' ...

. This indicated that ''B. luteocupreus'' and its relatives needed to be placed in a new genus. It was placed in the new genus '' Imperator'', becoming ''Imperator luteocupreus'', in 2015. The yellowish

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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

is up to in diameter and marked with orange spots. Hemispherical when young, it extends and flattens into a convex shape. The surface texture starts slightly velvety, becoming smoother with age. The pores on the cap underside are red, while the bulbous stipe yellow overlain with a prominent red net-like pattern, and measures up to high by thick. 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, but ...

is thick and hard. It is yellow, except for the stipe base where it is deep red. It has an acidic taste. The smell is indistinct. All parts of the mushroom stain a deep blue when cut or bruised. It resembles ''

Imperator torosus ''Imperator torosus'', commonly known as the brawny bolete, is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. It is native to southern Europe east to the Caucasus and Israel. It is generally associated with deciduous trees such as hornbea ...

'' but can be distinguished by its red (rather than yellow) pores. ''Imperator luteocupreus'' occurs in the Canary Islands, Menorca, Cyprus, Serbia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Sicily, Corsica, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Bulgaria, where it is rare. It may also be present in Greece and Switzerland. It grows under oak (''

''). It grows under sweet chestnut (''

Castanea sativa ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the Temperate climate, temperate world. A substa ...

'') in Bulgaria.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q10432400 Fungi described in 1990 Fungi of Europe Boletaceae Fungi of the Canary Islands Fungus species

See also

References

External links