Boletus is a
genus of
mushroom-producing
fungi, comprising
over 100 species. The genus
Boletus was originally broadly defined and described by
Carl Linnaeus in 1753, essentially containing all fungi with pores. Since then, other genera have been defined gradually, such as
Tylopilus by
Petter Adolf Karsten in 1881, and old names such as
Leccinum have been resurrected or redefined. Some mushrooms listed in older books as members of the genus have now been placed in separate genera. These include such as
Boletus scaber, now
Leccinum scabrum,
Tylopilus felleus,
Chalciporus piperatus and
Suillus luteus. More recently,
Boletus has been found to be massively
polyphyletic, with only a small perentage of the over 300 species that have been assigned to
Boletus actually belonging there and necessitating the description and resurrection of many more genera.