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Caloboletus marshii

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Caloboletus marshii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Boletales
Family: Boletaceae
Genus: Caloboletus
Species:
C. marshii
Binomial name
Caloboletus marshii
D. Arora, C.F. Schwarz, J.F. Frank
Caloboletus marshii
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Pores on hymenium
Cap is convex
Stipe is bare
Spore print is olive-brown
Ecology is mycorrhizal
Edibility is inedible

Caloboletus marshii, commonly known as Ben's bitter bolete,[2][3] is a species of mushroom in the family Boletaceae. It is not poisonous, but it is too bitter to eat.[2][3] It turns blue when cut or bruised, and it grows under live oak.[3]

Taxonomy

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Caloboletus marshii was first unofficially described by David Arora as Boletus "marshii" in his book Mushrooms Demystified, which was first published in 1979 and later revised in 1986.[2][1][4] In 2014, Jonathan L. Frank formally described the species as Caloboletus marshii.[1]

Description

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The cap of Caloboletus marshii is about 2-6 inches (6-15 cm) across, and the stipe is about 1-4 inches (3-10 cm) long and 0.7-4 inches (3-10 cm) wide.[3] The pore surface and the flesh are yellow, and quickly turn blue when bruised or cut.[3][2]

Similar species

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Caloboletus marshii can be confused with the brown butter bolete, Butryiboletus persolidus.[3] It can also be confused with the white king bolete, Boletus barrowsii, which doesn't bruise blue as much as Caloboletus marshii.[3][5]

Habitat and ecology

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Caloboletus marshii is a mycorrhizal fungus that grows under live oaks in California,[2][4] Oregon, and Washington.[4] It fruits in late summer and fall, often before the rains come. It is rarely found fruiting in November.[3]

Edibility and discovery

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Caloboletus marshii is inedible due to its extremely bitter taste. However, this didn't stop a man named Ben Marsh from repeatedly trying to make it edible. This brought the mushroom to David Arora's attention, and he named it after Ben Marsh.[2][3][4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Siegel, N. (2021). "Caloboletus marshii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T195923616A195926787. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T195923616A195926787.en.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Arora, David (1986). Mushrooms demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-0-89815-169-5.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Schwarz, Christian; Siegel, Noah (2016). Mushrooms of the redwood coast: a comprehensive guide to the fungi of coastal northern California. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1-60774-817-5.
  4. ^ a b c d Frank JL (24 October 2014). "Nomenclatural novelties" (PDF). Index Fungorum: 1. ISSN 2049-2375.
  5. ^ "| The Santa Cruz Mycoflora Project". scmycoflora.org. Retrieved 2024-07-14.