Mushrooms
Afroboletus luteolus
Afroboletus luteolus is a bolete of tropical Africa, one of seven species in its genus; the genus is reported to contain two food species, and this one's local food record remains to be confirmed.
What it is
Afroboletus is a genus of boletes, the mushrooms with a pored rather than gilled underside, endemic to tropical Africa. The EFTA genus page lists seven species. Afroboletus luteolus is one of them, and it was described within a group of African boletes that have been studied in southern and east-central Africa.
Boletes are often confused with one another in the field, and the genus contains species that differ in use and toxicity. The catalogue keeps the species name as a research label, so this page does not describe its colour, cap or pore features from a field source.
Sources for this section
Food use in the genus
The EFTA page says that two of the genus's seven species are used as food, citing Boa's 2004 FAO report on wild edible fungi. Wikipedia makes the same statement for Afroboletus costatisporus and A. luteolus. Both sources derive the claim from that FAO report, so they are one piece of evidence and not two.
Whether A. luteolus is one of the two food species in the genus is not established. Its catalogue food-use label is not confirmed by a local survey.
Sources for this section
Congo and local context
The Congo connection in the genus is A. costatisporus, which Wikipedia lists under Congo. The sources reviewed do not confirm that A. luteolus itself is recorded from Congo. A 2021 survey of the Lamba and Bemba people in Haut-Katanga, DR Congo, recorded thirty-eight edible species, but the sources do not show whether this bolete is among them.
The species is described from Congo-area material by its original authors. A list of its local names and its place in local food systems is not established.
Sources for this section
Safety and limits
No source reviewed gives a preparation method, a chemical description or a safety assessment for Afroboletus luteolus. Edibility claims for wild boletes need a regional field guide or a specialist, because look-alike boletes can be toxic.
This page does not state that the species is safe to eat. The catalogue food-use label is a research flag and not an edibility verdict.
Notes
Whether A. luteolus is one of the two food species in the genus, its local names, its cooking and its distribution in Congo are not established.
Sources for this section
Places
Tropical Africa
Historical attestation · Region evidenceThe genus is endemic to tropical Africa. The sources do not place this species at a narrower locality.
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Sources
European Fungal Taxonomy Association (EFTA)Identity · Food use
Afroboletus, EFTA genus pageThe genus is endemic to tropical Africa with seven species; two are used as food, citing Boa (2004), a FAO report on wild edible fungi.
Cited in: What it is; Food use in the genus; Safety and limits; Notes
WikipediaIdentity
Afroboletus, Wikipedia (used as a lead only)Lists the genus and its species, including A. costatisporus recorded from Congo.
Cited in: What it is; Food use in the genus; Congo and local context
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesIdentity
ABC Taxa volume 17, part 4: boletes of AfricaTaxonomic treatment of African boletes, consulted for the genus and its species limits.
Cited in: Congo and local context
PubMed Central, as suppliedFood use
Food-use record supplied in the fungi catalogue (entry F-4b971514a129)Catalogue entry for Afroboletus luteolus with a supplied food-use label pending specialist review.
Cited in: Safety and limits