Boletus pinophilus

Taxobox


image_width = 250px
regnum = Fungi
divisio = Basidiomycota
classis = Agaricomycetes
ordo = Boletales
familia = Boletaceae
genus = "Boletus"
species = "B. pinophilus"
binomial = "Boletus pinophilus"
binomial_authority = A. Pilát & A. Dermek (1973)cite web | title="Boletus pinophilus" taxon record details at Index Fungorum | publisher=Index Fungorum | url=http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=309751 | accessdate=August 28 | accessyear=2008]
synonyms = "Boletus aestivalis var. pinicola"
"Boletus edulis var. pinicola"
"Boletus edulis f. pinicola"
"Boletus pinicola" mycomorphbox
name=Boletus pinophilus
whichGills=adnexed
capShape=convex
hymeniumType=tubes
stipeCharacter=bare
sporePrintColor=olive-brown
ecologicalType=mycorrhizal
howEdible=edible

"Boletus pinophilus" is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus "Boletus" found throughout Europe and possibly in North America. The large, edible fruiting bodies, known as mushrooms, appear under pine trees in summer and autumn.

Taxonomy

"Boletus pinophilus" was considered for many years as a variety of "Boletus edulis", and before that as "Boletus pinicola". It gained its current name in 1973, described by Czech mycologists A. Pilát & A. Dermek. Its specific epithet is a mix of Latin "pinus" "pine", [cite book | last = Simpson | first = D.P. | title = Cassell's Latin Dictionary | publisher = Cassell Ltd. | date = 1979 | edition = 5 | location = London | pages = 883 | id = ISBN 0-304-52257-0] and Ancient Greek "philus" "loving".cite book | author = Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott | year = 1980 | title = A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged Edition) | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = United Kingdom | id = ISBN 0-19-910207-4]

Description

The fruiting body has a convex-shaped cap, at first small in relation to its stem, expanding in volume as it matures. The skin of the cap is dry, matt and can be coloured from maroon to chocolate brown with a reddish tint, and is a characteristic distinguishing it visually from relatives such as "Boletus edulis", "Boletus reticulatus" and "Boletus aereus". The young, immature cap may have a paler pink colour and a white, powdery flush.

Its pores are coloured white at first, becoming yellow with age and olivaceous-brown at full maturity. The spores are cylindric-ellipsoid, smooth, with drops and dimensions 15.5-20 by 4.5-5.5 µm and produce an olivaceous brown spore print.cite web | title="Boletus pinophilus" description by Mushrooms and Fungi of Poland | publisher=Mushrooms and Fungi of Poland | url=http://www.grzyby.pl/gatunki/Boletus_pinophilus.htm | accessdate=August 28 | accessyear=2008]

The bulbous stem is often large, swollen and imposing, bearing a network. The overall colour may have an orange-red tinge more obvious in the lowest parts, though this is also common in other species.

As with all boletes, the size of the fruiting body can be very variable. Cap diameter can be as much as 30 cm (12 in) and stem height 15 cm (6 in).

The flesh is white, soft in mature specimens and does not change colour upon bruising. It tastes and smells mildly.cite book | author = Ts. Hinkova | year = 1986 | title = Нашите Гъби | publisher = Zemizdat (Bulgaria) ]

Habitat and distribution

"Boletus pinophilus" forms ectomycorrhizal relationships with pine ("Pinus"), fir ("Abies") and spruce {"Picea"}, and it can therefore be located wherever they grow, and in particular with Scots pine in the UK. [cite web | title="Boletus pinophilus" record at BioImages UK | publisher=BioImages (UK) | url=http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/T30235.HTM | accessdate=August 28 | accessyear=2008] It appears to favour and is commonest with "Pinus", while the form occurring with "Abies" and "Picea" has been labeled "Boletus pinophilus" var. "fuscoruber". [cite web | title=A phylogenetic study of "Boletus" section "Boletus" in Europe | publisher=Nationaal Herbarium Nederland Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures | url=http://www.persoonia.org/Issue/20/01.pdf | accessdate=August 28 | accessyear=2008] It is not strictly associated with coniferous trees and may also be found fruiting in deciduous forests. Fruiting bodies can occur singly or in small groups throughout the summer and autumn months, and they are known to appear as early as April in Italy. [cite web | title="Boletus pinophilus" description by Gruppo Micologico «G. Bresadola» | publisher=Gruppo Micologico «G. Bresadola» | url=http://www.mtsn.tn.it/bresadola/gallery.asp?code=4&lang=eng | accessdate=August 28 | accessyear=2008]

The species has been described for Europe but there exists some question as to whether specimens reported in North America actually belong to the same species. [cite web | title="Boletus pinophilus" description by The Fungi of California | publisher=MykoWeb | url=http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Boletus_pinophilus.html | accessdate=August 28 | accessyear=2008]

Edibility

Described by various authors as a good edible.cite book | author = T. Læssøe, A. Del Conte | year = 1996 | title = The Mushroom Book | publisher = DK | id = ISBN 0789410737] [cite book | author = M. Jordan | year = 1995 | title = The Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe | publisher = David & Charles | id = ISBN 0715301292] It may be preserved by drying and cooked in the same way as other edible boletes. Maggots often attack the mushroom. It is one of the fungi most easily misidentified as the porcini, "Boletus edulis", due to the similar habitat and appearance.

References