Editing Boletus edulis (section)

{{Short description|Species of mushroom, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere}}
{{Redirect|Cep}}
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{{Use British English|date=October 2015}}
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{{Speciesbox
 | image = Boletus edulis IT.jpg
 | image_caption = In the northern [[Apennine Mountains]], Abetina Reale forest, Italy
 | image_alt = Two mushrooms with brown caps and light brown stems growing on the ground, surrounded by fallen leaves and other forest debris. One mushroom has been plucked and lies beside the other; its under-surface is visible, and is a light yellow colour.
 |status = LC
 |status_system = IUCN3.1
 |status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Dahlberg, A. |year=2019 |errata=2022 |title=''Boletus edulis'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T122090234A222968388 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T122090234A222968388.en |access-date=2 July 2024}}</ref>
 | genus = Boletus
 | species = edulis
 | authority = [[Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard|Bull.]] (1782)
 | synonyms_ref= <ref name="urlMycoBank: Boletus edulis">{{cite web |url=http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Link=T&Rec=356530 |title=''Boletus edulis'' Bull. 1782 |publisher=International Mycological Association |work=MycoBank |access-date=2010-10-21}}</ref>
 | synonyms = 
*''Ceriomyces crassus'' <small>[[Giovanni Antonio Battarra|Battarra]] (1775)</small>
*''Boletus solidus'' <small>[[James Sowerby|Sowerby]] (1809)</small>
*''Leccinum edule'' <small>(Bull.) [[Samuel Frederick Gray|Gray]] (1821)</small>
*''Dictyopus edulis'' <small>(Bull.) Forq. (1890)</small>
}}
{{Mycomorphbox
| name = ''Boletus edulis''
| whichGills = adnate
| capShape = convex
| hymeniumType = pores
| stipeCharacter = bare
| ecologicalType = mycorrhizal
| sporePrintColor = brown
| howEdible = choice
}}
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'''''Boletus edulis''''' (English: '''cep''', '''penny bun''', '''porcino''') is a [[basidiomycete]] fungus, and the [[type species]] of the genus ''[[Boletus]]''. It is prized as an [[edible mushroom]]. 

The fungus produces [[Basidiospore|spore]]-bearing [[basidiocarp|fruit bodies]] above ground in summer and autumn. The fruit body has a large brown [[pileus (mycology)|cap]] which on occasion can reach {{convert|30|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}, rarely {{convert|40|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|3|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} in weight. Like other [[bolete]]s, it has tubes extending downward from the underside of the cap, rather than gills; spores escape at maturity through the tube openings, or pores. The pore surface of the ''B.&nbsp;edulis'' fruit body is whitish when young, but ages to a greenish-yellow. The stout [[Stipe (mycology)|stipe]], or stem, is white or yellowish in colour, up to {{convert|20|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}, rarely {{convert|30|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|10|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} thick, and partially covered with a raised network pattern, or [[wikt:reticulate|reticulations]].

The fungus grows in [[deciduous forest|deciduous]] and [[coniferous forest]]s and tree [[plantation]]s, forming [[symbiotic]] [[Mycorrhiza#Ectomycorrhiza|ectomycorrhizal]] associations with living trees by enveloping the tree's underground roots with sheaths of fungal tissue. Widely distributed in the [[Northern Hemisphere]] across Eurasia and North America, it does not occur naturally in the Southern Hemisphere, although it has been [[introduced species|introduced]] to southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil. Several closely related European mushrooms formerly thought to be [[variety (botany)|varieties]] or [[form (botany)|forms]] of ''B.&nbsp;edulis'' have been shown using [[molecular phylogenetic]] analysis to be distinct species, and others previously classed as separate species are [[wikt:conspecific|conspecific]] with this species. The western North American species commonly known as the California king bolete (''Boletus edulis'' var. ''grandedulis'') is a large, darker-coloured variant first formally identified in 2007.

''B.&nbsp;edulis'' is held in high regard in many cuisines, and is commonly prepared and eaten in [[soups]], pasta, or [[risotto]]. The mushroom is low in fat and digestible [[carbohydrate]]s, and high in [[protein (nutrient)|protein]], [[vitamin]]s, [[dietary mineral|mineral]]s and [[dietary fibre]]. Although it is sold commercially, it is very difficult to [[fungiculture|cultivate]]. Available fresh in autumn throughout Europe and Russia, it is most often dried, packaged, and distributed worldwide. It keeps its flavour after drying, and it is then reconstituted and used in cooking. ''B.&nbsp;edulis'' is also one of the few fungi sold [[pickled]].