Brief Introduction to a Unique Edible Bolete—Phlebopus portentosus in Southern China

Abstract

Phlebopus portentosus (Berk. and Broome) Boedijn is a favored wild edible mushroom in the Xishuangbanna region, Yunnan, China and Northern Thailand. It belongs to Boletinellaceae family and is known as “black bolete”. Its ecological habits and biotrophy are very complicated. It can be saprobic and successfully cultivated in mushroom house conditions. More often it grows closely with many plants, but is not mycorrhizal fungus. It forms a tripartite association with root mealy bugs and plants. The fungus produces special fungus-insect gall with the soil mealy bugs, which is a symbiotic association between these two creatures. The gall grows on plant roots with parasitic tendency. This paper is a compact report of the findings, including taxonomy, ecology, economic and cultivation of this mushroom.