Leccinum versipelle

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Leccinum versipelle
Leccinum versipelle LC0366.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Boletales
Family: Boletaceae
Genus: Leccinum
Species:
L. versipelle
Binomial name
Leccinum versipelle
(Fr. & ) Snell (1944)
Synonyms
  • Boletus versipellis Fr. & Hök (1835)

Leccinum versipelle, also known as Boletus testaceoscaber or the orange birch bolete, is a common edible mushroom (given the right preparation) in the genus Leccinum. It is found below birches from July through to November, and turns black when cooked.

Description[]

Orange birch bolete (Leccinum versipelle), New Jersey, USA.

The cap is broadly convex, bright red-brown or brick red. It is felty and grows up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. The flesh is white to pink, turning green-blue when cut, particularly in the stipe. The spores are brown. The stipe is firm, long and slender, white and covered with small black scales.

Edibility[]

Leccinum versipelle is mildly toxic (causing nausea and vomiting) unless given proper heat treatment: frying or boiling for 15–20 minutes is considered necessary. As mentioned, the mushroom turns black when heated.

It is commonly harvested for food in Finland,[1]Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, and Russia.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Ohenoja, Esteri; Koistinen, Riitta (1984). "Fruit body production of larger fungi in Finland. 2: Edible fungi in northern Finland 1976–1978". Annales Botanici Fennici. 21 (4): 357–66. JSTOR 23726151.
  • E. Garnweidner. Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe. Collins. 1994.
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