#boletaceae

Old Man of the Woods

Strobilomyces sp.

This shaggy, dusky mushroom is in the bolete family and can be hard to find because it often blends in with leaf litter or pinecones.

Aug. 15th, 2023

St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

Olivia R. Myers

Perché tanti strani Boleti nei boschi ma pochi Porcini? É la domanda più ricorrente del periodo estivo. La domanda che ogni giorno almeno un paio di utenti delle nostre varie chat Telegram o Whatsapp mi pongono, con tanto di foto allegate di “strani boleti”, “strani Porcini” che Porcini non sono, pur somigliandogli molto: Perché tanti strani Boleti nei boschi ma pochi Porcini? Perché è il loro…

With the COVID19 restrictions finally relaxed here in western Australia, we had our first field trip with the WA Naturalist’s Club in months, out to the forest near Dwellingup SE of Perth. I invited members of the WA Insect Studies Society along too, and it appears they were going stir crazy too, since we ended up with over 30 people searching the undergrowth.

One of the many fungi we found was this bolete, a species found in Australia,  New Guinea, Borneo, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Java (from where it was originally described). The flesh is yellow, and bruises blue in most parts of the range, but not in WA, oddly. 

A number of Asian species have been synonymised with this one, but a similar species from Africa turned out to be distinct enough to get their own name. Elsewhere in the world the species in ectomycorrhizal with oaks and other decidous species, but in Australia it’s associated with eucalypts. 

The mycological diversity of Haley Farm is astounding. My new mushroom field guide is getting a real workout!