Boletales

The paper presents the results from the taxonomic revision of Boletus section Appendiculati in Bulgaria. Descriptions are provided based on Bulgarian specimens for the 5 species of the section: Boletus appendiculatus, B. fechtneri, B. fuscoroseus, B. regius, and B. subappendiculatus. The priority of the name B. fuscoroseus against B. pseudoregius is briefly discussed. A dichotomous key for the determination of members is also included.

Scleroderma is a gasteroid genus in the Boletales (Basidiomycota), with a cosmopolitan distribution. Species of Scleroderma
establish ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis with a range of coniferous and non-coniferous trees and shrubs, both in temperate
and tropical regions, with little tendency to host specificity, a feature that might have facilitated the wide distribution of the genus.
With the contribution of confocal laser scanning microscopy, we describe the morpho-anatomical features of the ectomycorrhizae
formed by Scleroderma meridionale on Halimium halimifolium, a cistaceous plant belonging to a small group of woody shrubs
occurring in open vegetation types in the Mediterranean region. The mycobiont and host plant identity in ECM was verified
through molecular tools. Mycorrhizal system is very small, up to 1.9 mm, mostly coralloid to irregularly pinnate. The mantle
surface is felty, whitish with silver patches. Differentiated rhizomorphs occur infrequently. Mantle surface is characterized by a
network of branched hyphae organized in hyphal boundles. Hyphae are frequently covered by granules or warts. These characters,
except for the presence of granules, are similar to those reported for the only two naturally-occurring Scleroderma ECM
described so far, i.e. S. bovista on Populus and S. citrinum on Betula and Pinus. On the other side, the peculiarity of
S. meridionale + Halimium ECMis the particularly small dimension of mycorrhizal system, a character shared with ECMformed
by Cistaceae. At the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of an ectomycorrhiza on Halimium, a plant whose
mycorrhizal biology deserves to be explored in greater detail.

The paper provides a preliminary checklist of Boletales in Bulgaria. It includes 77 species belonging to 18 genera. For each recorded taxon the distribution throughout the country, references to literature sources as well as the collection in which herbarium specimens are kept are given

The paper provides information on the first record of the rare and remarkable boletoid fungus Rubinoboletus rubinus (W.G. Sm.) Pilát et Dermek in Ukraine (Vinnitsa). A short diagnosis, distribution, ecology and photographs of the spores and basidiomata, and also GeneBank accession number of ITS sequence of this sample are provided. The potential conservation status of this species is briefly discussed.

Thirty-one species of Boletaceae and Gomphidiaceae from the State of Mexico of the Mexican Republic were studied. We discuss their distribution in different types of vegetation, ectomycorrhyzal association, phenology and edibility. The edibility of Chroogomphus jamaicensis is reported for the first time.