Appearance
"Boletus variipes" is closely related to "Boletus edulis", and is a dry, velvety to patchy tan or brown-gray mushroom with frequently prominent white to off-white reticulation on its darker brown stipe. It is often found under oaks and in mixed deciduous forests of aspen, maple and beech in eastern North America."Boletus variipes" has a broad, convex to almost flat cap between 6 and 20 cm, with a tendency to become cracked or finely patched in maturity, the flesh is white underside pore surface is white with pores which appear full when young, yellowing to olive as spores mature with a density of 1 to 2 pores per mm. The stipe is between 8 and 15 cm long and from 1 to 3.5 cm thick with slightly narrower ends or a widening base. The flesh of the cap and stipe does not discolor when cut or bruised. Spore prints are olive/brown.
Naming
A 2010 paper analyzing the genetic relationships within "Boletus" found that what was classified at the time as "B. variipes" was not monophyletic. Populations from east of the Rocky Mountains were sister to "B. hiratsukae" of Japan, with those from Central America and southeastern North America were sister to that combined lineage. This required the latter group to be renamed. A third population—from the Philippines—that has been known as "B. variipes" was more distantly related.
Distribution
It is common throughout eastern North America and has been documented in Costa Rica.References:
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