Red Boletus (Leccinum aurantiacum)
Systematics:
- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Boletales
- Family: Boletaceae
- Genus: Leccinum (Obabok)
- Species: Leccinum aurantiacum (Red Boletus)
- Other names for the mushroom:
- Common boletus
- Redhead
other names:
-
Redhead
-
Common boletus
- Boletus blood-red
- Boletus sanguinescens
Red boletus cap: Red-orange, 5-15 cm in diameter, spherical in youth, 'stretched' over the leg, opens over time. The skin is velvety, protrudes noticeably along the edges. The flesh is dense, white, darkens quickly to bluish-black on the cut.
Spore-bearing layer: In youth, white, then grayish brown, thick, uneven.
Spore powder: Yellow-brown.
Red boletus leg: Up to 15 cm long, up to 5 cm in diameter, solid, cylindrical, thickened towards the bottom, white, sometimes greenish at the base, deeply sinking into the ground, covered with longitudinal fibrous scales of reddish-brown color. Velvety to the touch.
Distribution: Red boletus grows from June to October, forming mycorrhiza mainly with aspens. Where they are not collected, it is found on a colossal scale.
Similar species: There is no final clarity about the number of boletus varieties (more precisely, the number of mushroom species combined under the Russian name 'boletus'). The red boletus (Leccinum aurantiacum) is characterized by lighter scales on the stem, not as wide a cap and a much more solid constitution as in Leccinum versipelle. In texture, it rather resembles a boletus (Leccinum scabrum). Other species are also mentioned, distinguishing them mainly by the type of trees with which this fungus forms mycorrhiza: Leccinum quercinum with oak, L. peccinum with spruce, Leccinum vulpinum with pine. All these mushrooms are characterized by brown scales on the leg; in addition, the 'oak boletus' (sounds roughly like 'meadow honey') is distinguished by its pulp with dark gray spots. However, many popular publications combine all these varieties according to the banner of the red boletus, recording them only as subspecies.
Edible: To the highest degree.
Author's notes: I don’t know how anyone else, but for me this particular mushroom is the real boletus, and not, say, the yellow-brown boletus (Leccinum versipelle). By the way, mushroom worms are of the same opinion. It is generally accepted that boletus are not wormy – and this is almost true in relation to Leccinum aurantiacum – which, unfortunately, cannot be said about yellow-brown. However, in this regard, only the violins are perfect.
Boletus is a mushroom of luck. Since childhood, I have mixed feelings about him. On the one hand, it is beautiful. On the other hand, it's not fair. It is often found by random people who have nothing to do with mushrooms. Still, try not to find it. And he often bypasses the real professionals of the mushroom business, and nothing can be done about it. There is simply no special way to find a boletus. Lucky or unlucky. Craftsmanship doesn't count.
Photo of the mushroom Red boletus from the recognition questions:
2019.08.10 Larisa 
2017.09.01 pecvalera 
2019.08.20 Masha kulichkova 
2016.08.09 Ivan 
2018.09.20 Igor 
2017.09.23 Valera
