Members of the porcini mushroom family (commonly called boletes) are easily recognized in natural forests throughout the world. The family contains approximately 25 genera, none of which has received critical taxonomic documentation on a global scale. Dr. Roy Halling, at The New York Botanical Garden, and two Ph.D. students under his guidance, will provide systematic revisions of four genera (Boletellus, Heimiella, Phylloporus, Tylopilus). These four genera appear to have their largest diversity in SE Asia and Australia, areas yet little explored for fungal diversity. Thus, Halling and his students will collaborate onsite with local students and professors to document that diversity, symbiotic associations, and distribution patterns. These collections will be analyzed morphologically and genetically to make it easier to identify these mushrooms, to document the species diversity, and to produce a reliable measure of their relationships to each other. In addition to technical publications, web-based information will be assembled, to provide descriptions of ongoing research, as well as a synthesis of the phylogeny, biodiversity, and ecology of the group. Images, literature guides, and other resources for researchers and educators will also be provided. Furthermore, a searchable database will be available providing up-to-date information on the diversity of genera and species, characters useful in identification, and the relationships among the species. The boletes form symbiotic associations with roots of tropical and temperate forest trees (associations called mycorrhizas), and in this association, the boletes facilitate nutrient uptake for the trees, provide some protection from invasion of soil pathogens, and accomplish nutrient breakdown and recycling of organic matter in the ecosystem. Thus, they are a critical link in maintenance and health of these ecosystems and are crucial for developing forest management plans, reforestation programs, and conservation strategies. Some are also highly prized as wild edibles (they have not successfully been brought into cultivation). In addition, two students (one American and one Brazilian) will be trained as Ph.D. mycologists with expertise for future work in mushroom systematics.
