Boletellus ananas

Overview

The pineapple bolete, Boletellus ananas, is a bolete, a mushroom with a pored rather than gilled underside, recorded from forests of Guyana. The local name aawahgo is given in the supplied record. The species is ectomycorrhizal, meaning it grows in partnership with forest tree roots, and it is found in the wild.

The species is documented as a food for one Patamona group in Guyana. Other groups avoid it, and a researcher reported stomach upset after eating it. The sources therefore record contested use and do not recommend it as an edible.

Identity and taxonomy

The supplied record keeps the name Boletellus ananas as the source survey used it. A later Guyana study, published in Mycotaxon in 2008, recorded the variety Boletellus ananas var. ananas from Guyana and described a related new species. The name and its varieties are not confirmed here against current taxonomic authority.

The supplied record gives the English name pineapple bolete. That name does not confirm any identification.

Ecology and habitat

The record places the species in forest and describes it as ectomycorrhizal. Ectomycorrhizal fungi depend on the roots of living trees, so they are gathered from the forest floor and cannot be grown in a simple bed.

Food use among the Patamona

The 2004 survey of edible mushrooms in Guyana records that one Patamona group eats the species and that other groups avoid it. The supplied record uses the phrase contested food use for this reason. The record does not describe the dish, the gathering season or any preparation that the eating group uses.

Preparation

The sources do not establish a preparation for this species. No cooking, drying or storage instruction is given here, and none should be inferred from other boletes.

Safety and identification

A researcher reported mild gastrointestinal upset after eating the mushroom, and the supplied record marks the safety status as a conflict for research only. The sources do not establish that the pineapple bolete is safe to eat, and they do not describe how to tell it from its look-alikes. Nothing on this page should be used to identify or eat a mushroom found in the wild.

Sources and limits

The full text of the 2004 Guyana survey could not be read for this page. The facts above come from the survey title and bibliographic record, and from the supplied catalogue entry, which quotes the field report. Each claim should be checked against the paper before it is used beyond this page.

Open questions

The sources leave open the preparation used by the eating group, the cause of the reported stomach upset, the local names beyond aawahgo, and the look-alike species in Guyana. These are the next questions for a field study with the Patamona communities and for a specialist review of the specimens.