''Boletus'' 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 ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

-producing

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

, 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 ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

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 Finland, Finnish mycology, 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 Merim ...

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 projection ...

'' 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 ''Tylopilus felleus'', commonly known as the bitter bolete or the bitter tylopilus, is a fungus of the Boletaceae, bolete family. French mycologist Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard, Pierre Bulliard described this species as ''Boletus ...

'', ''

Chalciporus piperatus ''Chalciporus piperatus'', commonly known as the peppery bolete, is a species of fungus in the family Boletaceae. Described by Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard, Pierre Bulliard in 1790 as ''Boletus piperatus'', it is only distantly rela ...

'' and ''

Suillus luteus ''Suillus luteus'' is a bolete fungus, and the type species of the genus ''Suillus''. Commonly referred to as slippery jack or sticky bun in English-speaking countries, its names refer to the brown pileus (mycology), cap, which is characterist ...

''. Most boletes have been found to be ectomycorrhizal fungi, which means 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 A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

, 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 languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

term ''bōlētus'' 'mushroom' 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 ...

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

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...

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 species description, described by Giovanni Antonio Scopol ...

''.

Phylogenetic tree of ''Boletus''

source:

Edibility

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

Boletus edulis ''Boletus edulis'' (English: cep, penny bun, porcino) is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus ''Boletus''. It is prized as an edible mushroom. The fungus produces Basidiospore, spore-bearing basidiocarp, fruit bodies ...

'', ''

Boletus aereus ''Boletus aereus'', commonly known as the dark cep, bronze bolete, or queen bolete, is a highly prized and much sought-after edible mushroom in the family Boletaceae. The bolete is widely consumed in Spain (Basque Country (greater region), ...

'' 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