Xerocomellus porosporus
Description
Xerocomellus porosporus, also known as the sepia bolete, is a small mushroom that can be found in mixed deciduous woods, often with oak, hornbeams, and beech trees. It has a cap that can grow up to 3.15 inches (8 cm) in diameter, and the color varies from beige to brown or olivaceous. The stem is typically olive-colored with some yellow at the top and turns brown when bruised. This mushroom has narrow, angular, lemon-yellow pores that darken and bruise blue.
While Xerocomellus porosporus is edible, it doesn't have a strong flavor and has a spongy texture. It's not highly regarded for culinary use. In some regions, it may also be referred to as Xerocomus truncatus, but it's important to note that there is a different American fungus with this name, and there's no evidence that it is found in Europe.
Common names: Sepia Bolete, France (Bolet fissuré).
Mushroom Identification
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Cap
A cap with a diameter of 0.79 to 3.15 inches (2 to 8 cm), initially hemispherical, later becoming convex, pillow-shaped, or pillow-like-expanded, and eventually fully convex-expanded. The cap's surface is dry, matte, and heavily cracked, forming a dense network of cracks through which the white, gray-brown, or dark brown pulp is visible.
Tubes and Pores
The hymenophore is tubular, with small, angular pores. Initially, the pores are lemon-yellow, later turning gray-olive and even blue in areas of contact.
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Stem
The stem is 1.18 to 1.97 inches (3 to 5 cm) high and 0.39 to 0.79 inches (1 to 2 cm) in diameter, typically cylindrical and often slightly bent. It is solid, colored gray-brown or yellow-brown, sometimes with a slight reddish tint, and appears yellow near the tubular layer while being darker at the base.
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Flesh
The flesh is dense, ranging in color from whitish to pale yellow, lemon yellow, and yellow in the stem. It has a pleasant mushroom or fruity aroma and tastes good.
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Habitat
This mushroom can be found growing from mid-May to mid-autumn in coniferous and mixed forests, forest strips, on forest edges, in young forest plantations, and often among moss and grass, either as individual specimens or in groups.
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Spores
The spores measuring 13-15 * 4-5 μm and having a spindle-shaped appearance.
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Spore Print
Olivaceous brown.
Xerocomellus porosporus Look-Alikes
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Has a yellow stem that is flushed red in the lower part and blues when cut or bruised near the stem base; its spores are finely striated.
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Has a dirty yellow stem without red fibrils, and it occurs only with the Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum) upon which it may be slightly parasitic.
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Also has truncate smooth spores, but it has a reddish cap and blueing flesh.
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Another European bolete with truncate spores, but these are clearly striate. It also has a reddish cap.
History
In 1958, a mushroom expert named Louis Imler (1900 - 1993) named this bolete Xerocomus porosporus. Later, in 2008, Czech mycologist Josef Šutara published a work that introduced the currently accepted name, Xerocomellus porosporus. He carefully studied the physical characteristics of this mushroom and its close relatives, and this was later confirmed by DNA studies.
The name "Boletus" finds its origins in the Greek word "bolos," which means 'lump of clay,' while the new genus name "Xerocomellus" suggests a somewhat distant connection to the genus Xerocomus, with the prefix "Xero-" implying dryness.
The specific name "porosporus" is derived from "poro-" meaning 'a cavity, opening, passage, or pore' and "sporus," which pertains to spores. This refers to the spore's shape, as they have a noticeable germ pore at the truncate end.
Synonyms
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Boletus porosporus Imler ex Watling (1968), Notes from the royal botanic Garden, Edinburgh 28(3), p. 305
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Xerocomus porosporus (Imler ex Watling) Contu (1990), Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana série 2 63, p. 385
Video
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