Bolete Mushroom Season Is Here Again

September 4^th, 2016. We’ve had a particularly dry summer. Some of the mushrooms that fruit during early summer didn’t appear this year. Thunderstorms have brought some rain recently and it seems that some of the late summer fungi are going to make an appearance. These include mushrooms of various types.

Mushrooms, in contrast to other fungi, have a cap and a stem.

We usually think of mushrooms as having gills from which spores are released to perpetuate the species. However, mushrooms may also have pores or teeth.

Boletes are mushrooms that have pores instead of gills. Pores are simply small tubes in the cap from which spores are released.

When the boletes were first described by Chevallier in 1826, the family (Boletaceae) included five genera. In the most recent review of the family (Wu, 2014), 59 genera were recognized. More genera and species are being added, largely as a result of nucleic acid sequencing studies that show genetic differences among boletes that are not easily differentiated by other methods. 

Although I’m most interested in bracket fungi, I decided to devote more effort this year to documenting boletes that I encountered. Some boletes are very easy to identify. On the whole, however, identifying boletes can be challenging. Many are very similar in appearance. Thanks to friend on the Boletes of North America Facebook Group, I’ve been able to identify those that I didn’t recognize. 

Here are the boletes that I’ve encountered so far – since August 4^th - along a one-mile trail, and in order of my first sighting of the species.

Pulveroboletus ravenelii (Ravenel’s Bolete)

Heimioporus betula (Shaggy-stalked Bolete)

Tylopilus rubrobrunneus (Reddish Brown Bitter Bolete)

Boletus pallidus (Pallid Bolete)

Retiboletus ornatipes (Ornate-stalked Bolete)

Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus (Violet Gray Bolete)

Exsudoporus frostii (formerly Boletus frostii/Frost’s Bolete)

Tylopilus rhoadsiae (Pale Bitter Bolete)

Such a wonderful variety of boletes! Makes one look at mushrooms with a completely different eye, and the reason I may often be found sitting or lying beside the trail taking photographs. 

Note: These are among the easier boletes to identify. I know I’m going to see more boletes that will be much more challenging to identify.

References 

Wikipedia. Boletaceae. 

Facebook Group. Boletes of North America 

Mushroom Expert. Pulveroboletus ravenelii 

Mushroom Expert. Heimioporus betula 

Mushroom Expert. Tylopilus rubrobrunneus 

Mushroom Expert. Boletus pallidus 

Mushroom Expert. Retiboletus ornatipes 

Mushroom Expert. Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus 

Mushroom Expert. Boletus frostii (now Exsudoporus frostii)

Wikipedia. Tylopilus rhoadsiae