Boletus pseudosulphureus
Boletus pseudosulphureus Kallenb.
Boletus junquilleus (Quél.) Boud.
Boletaceae
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)].
Morphology and biology. Cap up to 10 cm in diameter, hemispherical to convex, lemon or bright yellow, later with brown or black spots; surface bruising blue on handling. Stipe central, clavate or cylindrical, concolorous with the cap, covered with fine red or orange red granules; surface blueing when bruised. Flesh lemon yellow, blueing strongly when exposed to air. Tubes and pores yellow, blueing when bruised. Basidiospores 10–17.5 × 4.5–6 μm. Mycorrhizal with oaks (Quercus).
Habitats and populations. Light, thinned thermophilous oak forests, usually on poor shallow soil.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Black Sea Coast (Southern), Vitosha Region (Lyulin Mt), Sredna Gora Mts (Eastern); up to 700 m.
General distribution. Seldom throughout Europe (absent in the northernmost parts), Asia Minor (Turkey), the Far East, North America.
Threats. Limited distribution, forest cutting, habitat loss and degradation due to intensive tourism and infrastructure development. Fruiting bodies do not appear every year and are often severely damaged or destroyed by the parasitic fungus Sepedonium chrysospermum.
Conservation measures taken. Included in the Red List of Fungi in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Sustainable management and conservation of the habitat and of the known localities; monitoring of the populations.
References. Kuthan & Kotlaba 1981; Engel et al. 1983; Muñoz 2005; Denchev & Assyov 2010.
Authors: Boris Assyov & Cvetomir M. Denchev
