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zed240

Boletus Edulis found in Victoria, Australia!

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fascinating isnt it.

bit of a concern ecologically.

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fascinating isnt it.

bit of a concern ecologically.

It definitely is fascinating.

But I think the land clearing/logging and planting of all the pines in these areas that led to these being imported is also a pretty huge ecological concern. :wink:

I assume you're thinking that these B edulis may be such a hardy species that they end up out-competing native mycorrhizal species? And maybe even form mycorrhizal relationships with native Australian trees at some stage?

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Isn't the new species (Boletus austroedulis) supposed to grow under natives? If it's under introduced pine, more likely it's edulis. And if we're going to have European fungi naturalising here, then it might as well be something delicious! Do you really think they have the potential to be that invasive? I would've thought they'd be more common if that were the case - like Amanita muscaria & milk caps.

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The fact its under pine supports that its edulis as most collections in sa have been under pine.

i found Suillus bovinus the other day so new mycorrhizal passengers are popping up each year

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Amanita muscara has been found in remote eucy forest miles from any introduced species. Apparently the host can change

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Amanita muscara has been found in remote eucy forest miles from any introduced species. Apparently the host can change

And the muscaria found in natives you speak of definitely wasn't amanita xanthocephala? They do look pretty different but to a novice they could be mistaken due to the similar redness of the cap.

[EDIT] - Don't worry, answered my own question.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21573836

Edited by zed240

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Does anyone have any ideas for host candidates other than pine?

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Does anyone have any ideas for host candidates other than pine?

quercus robur and castanea sativa - English oak and sweet chestnut.

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Very very cool. Come on yarra ranges! Do it too

Yeah that would be spectacular. I'm surprised that they were found towards Macedon in this cold weather, in Europe they emerge in summer, this is actually quite strange, unless I'm missing something?

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Yeah that would be spectacular. I'm surprised that they were found towards Macedon in this cold weather, in Europe they emerge in summer, this is actually quite strange, unless I'm missing something?

They come up between March and early July here in the Adelaide Hills which is always a bit colder than suburban Adelaide is and that area also has a much higher rainfall.

I always assumed that was because Europe's summers are still cold compared to ours....

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yeah the summers there are cold compared to ours. The winters are frosty.

I met a guy who collected west-coast USA's version of the king bolete/edulis under spruce if i remember correctly (two hours sleep so I might be wrong). Oak is the norm in the UK though.

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And the muscaria found in natives you speak of definitely wasn't amanita xanthocephala? They do look pretty different but to a novice they could be mistaken due to the similar redness of the cap.

[EDIT] - Don't worry, answered my own question.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21573836

Hi - no it was definately muscara. I have photos some where. Suillus granatulas has also adopted native tea trees as a host and Tricholoma terreum turns up in all sorts of native settings now days as well. They are spreading ;)

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Where I am all that has turned up for the first time is Suillus bovinus which is ok but it aint porcini!

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Some of these mushroom names are hilarious - I wonder if scientists would take more care with their naming if people still knew Greek & Latin...Suillus bovinus... "pig-cow mushroom", lmao.

Unless of course it actually does taste like a bacon-fried steak, in which case I apologise.

Back to topic, I hope this is just the beginning & porcini become more widespread! As long as they're exotic-symbiotic I think it's ok, we have so many introduced species already - at least porcini are edible & not known for being invasive or harmful to host trees (that I know of anyway). I seem to remember reading about some kind of relationship between Amanita species & Boletus - it would be cool if that was the only reason it had taken so long for B.edulis to take off here - that it needed Amanita-trailblazers to come in first, and now all those bloody amanitas filling the pine plantations will be replaced by boletus... well, I can dream. More likely they'd replace the S. luteus I guess (if that described relationship was real), but hey, that works too.

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Someone raised the point that these were found is the busiest hunting ground in Victoria so its surprising some of the regular hunters didn't spot these

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Someone raised the point that these were found is the busiest hunting ground in Victoria so its surprising some of the regular hunters didn't spot these

Maybe it's bullshit. I guess we'll see.

It would get me up there feverishly hunting if I was nearby and these were new reports. It's not like they won't fruit again if it's true so surely someone will find them again or it'll end up being a hoax I guess.

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Inspired by the tale of that mysterious Victorian B.edulis find I decided to go far out East where the habitat is just as suitable, during the hunt there were many of the usual; Lactarius, amanita, slippery Jack but no sign of B.edulis.

Although I was dissapointed in not finding at least one specimen, it was still enjoyable yet tiring to get out there and forage through those enchanting pine groves.

I did leave with some after-thoughts; is it possible that local wild-life have discovered this delicacy? There were obvious signs of disturbed patches in the needle stacks, most likely wombats or even deer.

It's possible that the mycellium or spores never made it to these areas. In 60 years you would expect some sign of its existence. I suppose one would need to survey the whole area (which could take days) to really be sure.

It could also be too early or late in the season.

Edited by klip247

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Inspired by the tale of that mysterious Victorian B.edulis find I decided to go far out East where the habitat is just as suitable, during the hunt there were many of the usual; Lactarius, amanita, slippery Jack but no sign of B.edulis.

Although I was dissapointed in not finding at least one specimen, it was still enjoyable yet tiring to get out there and forage through those enchanting pine groves.

I did leave with some after-thoughts; is it possible that local wild-life have discovered this delicacy? There were obvious signs of disturbed patches in the needle stacks, most likely wombats or even deer.

It's possible that the mycellium or spores never made it to these areas. In 60 years you would expect some sign of its existence. I suppose one would need to survey the whole area (which could take days) to really be sure.

It could also be too early or late in the season.

I don't think you should be too disappointed. They have only been found in the last 6 or 7 years or so in South Australia and the trees they are found with where imported between 50 and 20 years ago. So it's possible they just haven't matured enough to fruit over where you are, or they aren't there at all.

And in regards to animals eating them. I'm pretty sure bandicoots have found them in a couple of my spots, I know fungus are a part of their diet. (The bandicoot thing is just my theory, I'm more than happy for someone with more animal knowledge to chime in!) I think they usually eat truffle-like fungus that grow underground, but in the deeper pine plantations the boletus edulis basically grow so deep under the needles and dirt that you could almost consider them underground anyway!

There are so many mushrooms that there is enough to go around for me and the 'coots though. Found plenty with distinctive teeth marks on caps and some with stems eaten out from below.

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