A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungus fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique cap. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surface with Fungal pores, instead of the gills typical of mushrooms. A similar pore surface is found in , but these species generally have a different physical structure from boletes, and have different microscopic characteristics than boletes. Many polypores have much firmer, often woody, flesh.
"Bolete" is the English common name for fungus species with caps that have this appearance.
Some, but not all boletes bruise blue.
Taxonomy
The boletes are classified in the order
Boletales. However, not all members of the order Boletales are boletes. The and molecular phylogeny of the order Boletales have established that it also contains many
agarics, puffball, and other fruit body shapes. Examples of these fungi include
Chroogomphus,
Gomphidius,
Phylloporus,
Paxillus, Tapinella, Hygrophoropsis,
and
Scleroderma.
The genus
Boletus was originally broadly defined and described by
Carl Linnaeus in 1753, containing all pored mushrooms.
Since then, gradually other genera have been defined, such as
Tylopilus by Karsten in 1881,
and old names such as
Leccinum and
Suillus resurrected or redefined.
Recently, the genus Boletus has been split up even more, creating new genera, such as Xerocomellus
Ecology
Most boletes are
Mycorrhiza and are generally found in woodlands.
There is also a parasitic bolete,
Pseudoboletus parasiticus, which grows on
Scleroderma citrinum. Another parasitic bolete is
Buchwaldoboletus lignicola, which is a parasite to
Phaeolus schweinitzii, the dyer's polypore.
Boletes are susceptible to infection by the fungus
Hypomyces chrysospermus, also known as the bolete eater.
Edibility
Many boletes, such as the porcini
(Boletus edulis), are edible and considered a delicacy.
However, other boletes, such as
Suillus and
Xerocomellus are considered edible, but not choice.
Some boletes, such as
Caloboletus and
Tylopilus are too bitter to eat.
Other boletes, such as ones in the
Rubroboletus genus, such as Satan's bolete (
Rubroboletus satanas) are dangerously poisonous.
Most poisonous boletes have red pores.
Some boletes appear to be hallucinogenic bolete mushrooms.
One known bolete species that might be hallucinogenic is
Boletus manicus.
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