Xerocomus

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title: "Xerocomus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["boletaceae", "boletales-genera", "taxa-described-in-1887"] description: "Genus of fungi" topic_path: "general/boletaceae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerocomus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of fungi ::

| image = Boletus subtomentosus.jpg | image_caption = Xerocomus subtomentosus | taxon = Xerocomus | authority = Quél. (1887) | type_species = Xerocomus subtomentosus | type_species_authority = (L.) Quél. (1888) ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Xerocomus_silwoodensis.jpg" caption="''[[Xerocomus silwoodensis]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Xerocomus_squamulosus.jpg" caption="''[[Xerocomus squamulosus]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Xerocomus_ferrugineus_10.jpg" caption="''[[Xerocomus ferrugineus]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Boletus_illudens_261343.jpg" caption="''[[Xerocomus illudens]]''"] ::

Xerocomus is a genus of poroid fungi related to Boletus. Most members of Xerocomus are edible, though of mediocre gastronomical value and inferior to the sought-after porcini.

Taxonomy

Many mycologists did not originally recognize the distinction between the two genera and placed Xerocomus taxa in genus Boletus. However, several molecular phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that Xerocomus is a heterogeneous genus of polyphyletic origin, which has resulted in further division of Xerocomus into Xerocomellus and Hemileccinum. The members of the genus Xerocomellus are more closely related to Boletus than true Xerocomus is, which is relatively distantly related to Boletus and more closely related to Phylloporus. Other former Xerocomus species have since been moved to Aureoboletus, Imleria, Hortiboletus and Rheubarbariboletus.

Ladurner and Simonini published a monograph on Xerocomus in 2003, but this predated the taxonomical revisions based on phylogenetic inferences. In 2008, Hills included 18 species found in Britain, not including some species sometimes treated as Xerocomus, and including Boletus pulverulentus and Boletus impolitus., currently placed in genera Cyanoboletus and Hemileccinum, respectively. More recent phylogenies have confirmed Xerocomus as monophyletic in its new restricted arrangement.

Description

::data[format=table title="Morphological features of xerocomoid boletes"]

Boletus s.str.	Hemileccinum	Xerocomellus	Xerocomus s.str.
Spore surface	Smooth	Smooth	Longitudinally striated or smooth, never bacillate
Hymenophoral trama	Boletoid type with gelatinous lateral strata	Boletoid type with gelatinous lateral strata	Intermediate between boletoid and phylloporoid when fully developed with distinct but weakly gelatinous lateral strata
Pileipellis	Trichoderm, sometimes collapsing, rarely ixotrichoderm or other	Initially trichoderm but collapses with age	Initially palisadoderm, typically encrusted
Lateral stipe stratum	Frequently gelatinous, 60-90 μM thick, thicker than that of Xerocomellus	Similar to that of Leccinum species, ornamented with stipe scabrousities up to 400-640 μM thick	Frequently not present, reduced to no more than 30-40 μM thick, not gelatinous
::

Species

• X. albobrunneus Heinem. & Gooss.-Font. 1951
• X. albotessellatus Heinem. 1964
• X. alliaceus (Beeli) Heinem. 1951
• X. amazonicus Singer 1978
• X. anthracinus M.Zang, M.R.Hu & W.P.Liu 1991
• X. astereicola Imazeki 1952
• X. astraeicolopsis J.Z.Ying & M.Q.Wang 1981
• X. belizensis — Belize
• X. chrysonemus
• X. cyaneibrunnescens — Guyana
• X. ferrugineus
• X. garhwalensis Nautiyal et al. 2025 — NW India
• X. griseo-olivaceus — New Zealand
• X. guidonis
• X. illudens — North America, India and Bangladesh
• X. lentistipitatus — New Zealand
• X. mcrobbii — New Zealand
• X. nothofagi — New Zealand
• X. olivaceus — Belize
• X. parvogracilis — Guyana
• X. porophyllus — China
• X. potaroensis — Guyana
• X. rishikeshinus Nautiyal et al. 2025 — NW India
• X. rufostipitatus — New Zealand
• X. silwoodensis (discovered on a university campus in London, named 7th top new species of 2007 by IISE)
• X. squamulosus — New Zealand
• X. subtomentosus (edible and very common, found in Eurasia, North America and Australia)
• X. tenax

References

References

1. Nautiyal A., Ben Hassine Ben Ali M., Kannan R, Rawat G.S., Krishnamurthy R. and Stephenson S.L. 2025. [https://web.archive.org/web/20250501060301/https://www.asianjournalofmycology.org/pdf/AJOM_8_1_2.pdf Two New Species of ''Xerocomus'' (Boletales) from the Indian Himalaya.] '''''Asian Journal of Mycology.''''' 8(1), 3–11.
2. (2007-10-09). "Species new to science named after Imperial campus {{!}} Imperial News {{!}} Imperial College London".
3. "International Institute for Species Exploration".
4. Arora, D.. (1986). "Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi". Ten Speed Press.
5. De AB.. (2006). "Two new additions to Indian Boletaceae". Journal of Natural History (India).
6. (2015). "Evolutionary relationships of ''Heimioporus'' and ''Boletellus'' (Boletales), with an emphasis on Australian taxa including new species and new combinations in ''Aureoboletus'', ''Hemileccinum'' and ''Xerocomus''". Australian Systematic Botany.
7. Hills AE.. (2008). "The genus ''Xerocomus'': A personal view, with a key to the British species". Field Mycology.
8. (2013). "New species of ''Xerocomus'' (Boletales) from the Guiana Shield, with notes on their mycorrhizal status and fruiting occurrence". Mycologia.
9. Klofac W.. (2010). "Die Gattung ''Aureoboletus'', ein weltweiter Überblick. Ein Beitrag zu einer monographischen Bearbeitung". Österreichische Zeitschrift für Pilzkunde.
10. (2003). "''Xerocomus'' s.l.". Edizioni Candusso.
11. (2019). "Present status and future of boletoid fungi (Boletaceae) on the island of Cyprus: cryptic and threatened diversity unraveled by 10-year study.". Fungal Ecology.
12. McNabb RFR.. (1968). "The Boletaceae of New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany.
13. (1977). "Fungi of Northern Europe 1: Larger Fungi (Excluding Gill-Fungi)". Penguin.
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15. (2007). "Boletes from Belize and the Dominican Republic". Fungal Diversity.
16. (1991). "Fleshy fungi Of N.W. Himalayas XIV. Species of ''Boletus'' new to India". Indian Journal of Mycology and Plant Pathology.
17. Šutara, J.. (1989). "The delimitation of the genus ''Leccinum''". Ceská Mykologie.
18. Šutara J.. (1991). "''Pseudoboletus'', a new genus of ''Boletales''". Ceská Mykologie.
19. Šutara J.. (July 2025). "''Xerocomus'' s.l. in the light of the present state of knowledge". Czech Mycology.
20. Vizzini A.. (12 June 2014). "Nomenclatural novelties". Index Fungorum.
21. Vizzini A.. (26 June 2015). "Nomenclatural novelties". Index Fungorum.
22. (2013). "''Xerocomus porophyllus'' sp. nov., morphologically intermediate between ''Phylloporus'' and ''Xerocomus''". Mycotaxon.

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