| Tylopilus felleus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Boletales |
| Family: | Boletaceae |
| Genus: | Tylopilus |
| Species: | T. felleus |
| Binomial name | |
| Tylopilus felleus (Bull.) P.Karst. (1881) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Boletus alutarius Fr. |
|
| Tylopilus felleus | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
| pores on hymenium | |
| cap is convex | |
| hymenium is adnate | |
| stipe is bare | |
|
spore print is buff to pink |
|
| ecology is mycorrhizal | |
| edibility: inedible | |
Tylopilus felleus, formerly Boletus felleus, is a fungus of the bolete family, found in Northern Europe and North America. Although it is not poisonous, it is not considered edible, due to its overwhelming bitterness.
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The species was first described in the scientific literature as Boletus felleus by Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard in 1788. It derives its specific name from the Latin fel meaning "bile" referring to its bitter taste, similar to bile. A subspecies in the Great Lakes region, var. uliginosus, was recognised by Smith and Thiers in 1971.[1]
Up to 15 cm wide, the cap is grey yellow to pale brown. It is slightly downy at first, but is later smooth. The stalk is lighter, and covered with a coarse brown network.[2] Like most boletes it lacks a ring, and it may be distinguished from Boletus edulis by its unusual pink pores. The flesh is white or creamy, and pink beneath the cap cuticle. The pores bruise brownish, and it gives a pink to vinaceous spore print.[2]
It grows in deciduous and coniferous woodland, often under beech and oak. Occurring in well drained acid soils,[3] from August to September, in many of the northern temperate zones.