A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. Toadstool generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
Boletus edulis 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 occur naturally in the Southern Hemisphere, although it has been introduced to southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil. Several closely related European mushrooms formerly thought to be varieties or forms of B. edulis have been shown using molecular phylogenetic analysis to be distinct species, and others previously classed as separate species are conspecific with this species. The western North American species commonly known as the California king bolete is a large, darker-coloured variant first formally identified in 2007.
The Boletaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenial surface, instead of gills as are found in most agarics. Nearly as widely distributed as the agarics, the family is renowned for hosting some prime edible species highly sought after by mushroom hunters worldwide, such as the cep or king bolete . A number of rare or threatened species are also present in the family, that have become the focus of increasing conservation concerns. As a whole, the typical members of the family are commonly known as boletes.
Hypomyces lactifluorum, the lobster mushroom, contrary to its common name, is neither a mushroom nor a crustacean, but rather a parasitic ascomycete fungus that grows on certain species of mushrooms, turning them a reddish orange color that resembles the outer shell of a cooked lobster. H. lactifluorum specifically attacks members of the genera Lactarius and Lactifluus (milk-caps), and Russula (brittlegills), such as Russula brevipes and Lactifluus piperatus in North America. At maturity, H. lactifluorum thoroughly covers its host, rendering it unidentifiable. Lobster mushrooms are widely eaten and enjoyed freshly foraged and cooked. They are commercially marketed and sometimes found in grocery stores; they have been made available at markets in Oregon. They have a seafood-like flavor and a firm, dense texture.
Paxillus involutus, commonly known as the brown roll-rim, common roll-rim is a basidiomycete fungus that is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. It has been inadvertently introduced to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America, probably transported in soil with European trees. Various shades of brown in colour, the fruit body grows up to 6 cm high and has a funnel-shaped cap up to 12 cm wide with a distinctive inrolled rim and decurrent gills that may be pore-like close to the stipe. Although it has gills, it is more closely related to the pored boletes than to typical gilled mushrooms. It was first described by Pierre Bulliard in 1785, and was given its current binomial name by Elias Magnus Fries in 1838. Genetic testing suggests that Paxillus involutus may be a species complex rather than a single species.
Chalciporus piperatus, commonly known as the peppery bolete, is a small pored mushroom of the family Boletaceae found in mixed woodland in Europe and North America. It has been recorded under introduced trees in Brazil, and has become naturalised in Tasmania and spread under native Nothofagus cunninghamii trees. A small bolete, the fruit body has a 1.6–9 cm orange-fawn cap with cinnamon to brown pores underneath, and a 4–9.5 cm high by 0.6–1.2 cm thick stipe. The flesh has a very peppery taste. The rare variety hypochryseus, found only in Europe, has yellow pores and tubes.
Hypomyces is a genus of parasitic ascomycete fungi found in Europe, North America, Australia, and parts of China. The genus contains 53 species. Better known species include the lobster mushroom and the bolete eater.
Suillus bovinus, also known as the Jersey cow mushroom or bovine bolete, is a pored mushroom of the genus Suillus in the family Suillaceae. A common fungus native to Europe and Asia, it has been introduced to North America and Australia. It was initially described as Boletus bovinus by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, and given its current binomial name by Henri François Anne de Roussel in 1806. It is an edible mushroom, though not highly regarded.
Xerocomellus chrysenteron, formerly known as Boletus chrysenteron or Xerocomus chrysenteron, is a small, edible, wild mushroom in the family Boletaceae. These mushrooms have tubes and pores instead of gills beneath their caps. It is commonly known as the red cracking bolete.
Suillellus luridus, commonly known as the lurid bolete, is a fungus of the family Boletaceae, found in calcareous broadleaved woodlands in Europe. Fruit bodies appear in summer and autumn and may be locally abundant. It is a firm bolete with an olive-brown cap up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter, with small orange or red pores on the underside. The stout ochre stem reaches 8–14 cm (3–6 in) high and 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) wide, and is patterned with a red network. Like several other red-pored boletes, it stains blue when bruised or cut.
Russula brevipes is a species of mushroom commonly known as the short-stemmed russula or the stubby brittlegill. It is widespread in North America, and was reported from Pakistan in 2006. The fungus grows in a mycorrhizal association with trees from several genera, including fir, spruce, Douglas-fir, and hemlock. Fruit bodies are white and large, with convex to funnel-shaped caps measuring 7–30 cm (3–12 in) wide set atop a thick stipe up to 8 cm (3 in) long. The gills on the cap underside are closely spaced and sometimes have a faint bluish tint. Spores are roughly spherical, and have a network-like surface dotted with warts.
Lactifluus piperatus, commonly known as the blancaccio, is a semi-edible basidiomycete fungus of the genus Lactifluus. Despite being edible, it is not recommended by some because of its poor taste, though can be used as seasoning when dried. The fruiting body is a creamy-white mushroom which is funnel-shaped when mature, with exceptionally crowded gills. It bleeds a whitish peppery-tasting milk when cut. Widely distributed across Europe and eastern North America, Lactifluus piperatus has been accidentally introduced to Australia. Mycorrhizal, it forms a symbiotic relationship with various species of deciduous tree, including beech, and hazel, and fruiting bodies are found on the forest floor in deciduous woodland.
Macrolepiota clelandii, commonly known as the slender parasol or graceful parasol, is a species of mushroom-forming fungus in the family Agaricaceae. The species is found in Australia and New Zealand, where it fruits singly or in small groups on the ground in eucalypt woodlands, parks, and roadsides. It is a tall mushroom up to roughly 20 cm (8 in), with a broad cap covered with distinctive rings of dark brown scales. The whitish gills on the cap underside are closely spaced and free from attachment to the slender stipe, which has a loose ring on its upper half, and a bulbous base. The edibility of the mushroom is not known with certainty, but closely related parasol mushrooms are edible and some are very sought after.
Suillus spraguei is a species of fungus in the family Suillaceae. It is known by a variety of common names, including the painted slipperycap, the painted suillus or the red and yellow suillus. Suillus spraguei has had a complex taxonomical history, and is also frequently referred to as Suillus pictus in the literature. The readily identifiable fruit bodies have caps that are dark red when fresh, dry to the touch, and covered with mats of hairs and scales that are separated by yellow cracks. On the underside of the cap are small, yellow, angular pores that become brownish as the mushroom ages. The stalk bears a grayish cottony ring, and is typically covered with soft hairs or scales.
Gyroporus cyanescens, commonly known as the bluing bolete or the cornflower bolete, is a species of bolete fungus in the family Gyroporaceae. First described from France in 1788, the species is found in Asia, Australia, Europe, and eastern North America, where it grows on the ground in coniferous and mixed forests.
Leotia lubrica, commonly referred to as a jelly baby, is a species of fungus in the family Leotiaceae. The species produces small fruit bodies up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in height, featuring a "head" and a stalk. Ochre with tints of olive-green, the heads are irregularly shaped, while the stalk, of a similar colour, attaches them to the ground. The appearance can be somewhat variable and is similar to a number of other species, including Cudonia confusa, C. circinans, L. atrovirens and L. viscosa. L. lubrica was first validly described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, but it was later transferred to Leotia by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. Its relationship with other members of the genus, of which it is the type species, is complicated.
Harrya chromapes, commonly known as the yellowfoot bolete or the chrome-footed bolete, is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. The bolete is found in eastern North America, Costa Rica, and eastern Asia, where it grows on the ground, in a mycorrhizal association with deciduous and coniferous trees. Fruit bodies have smooth, rose-pink caps that are initially convex before flattening out. The pores on the cap undersurface are white, aging to a pale pink as the spores mature. The thick stipe has fine pink or reddish dots (scabers), and is white to pinkish but with a bright yellow base. The mushrooms are edible but are popular with insects, and so they are often infested with maggots.
Hypomyces hyalinus is a species of parasitic fungi that attacks fungi of the genus Amanita. The earliest recording of this parasite was in 1822 in Salem, North Carolina, but microscopic descriptions of H. hyalinus do not appear in the literature until 1886.
Leccinum holopus, commonly known as the white birch bolete, white bog bolete, or ghost bolete, is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae found in northern Asia, Europe, and northeastern North America. It associates with birch trees and is typically found in boggy or swampy areas, often growing among sphagnum moss.
Sutorius eximius, commonly known as the lilac-brown bolete, is a species of fungus in the family Boletaceae. This bolete produces fruit bodies that are dark purple to chocolate brown in color with a smooth cap, a finely scaly stipe, and a reddish-brown spore print. The tiny pores on the cap underside are chocolate to violet brown. It is widely distributed, having been recorded on North America, South America, and Asia, where it grows in a mycorrhizal relationship with both coniferous and deciduous trees.
