Phlebopus colossus

Name and identity

The currently accepted name is Phlebopus colossus (R. Heim) Singer. Boletus colossus R. Heim is the original name used in the supplied index and the basionym. The species belongs to Boletinellaceae. The protologue dates to 1936; taxonomic records link the species to a giant, dark-capped bolete.

Range, habitat and season

The Madagascar type collection is recorded from Tampina, collected 24 November 1934 beneath coffee trees on recently cultivated ground. A later Madagascar overview describes it on the central plateau near ornamental trees such as coffee, mango and legumes, including trees left in planted fields. The tropical African literature also reports it in Madagascar and neighbouring regions, but records should be kept country- and source-specific.

A Thai study reports specimens from Chaiyaphum and Ubon Ratchathani in the northeast, Chiang Mai in the north, and Songkhla in the south; it describes the species as occasionally appearing during the rainy season and being sold in markets in those regions. A community-forest food study lists July–September for a local Thai “Boletus colossus” entry, but does not establish a general season across Thailand or Madagascar. These are regional observations, not a global calendar.

Reported food use and limits

The Madagascar record is mixed in certainty: FAO places brackets around an early edible report of Boletus colossus, which its methods explain as uncertainty in the source; a separate entry lists Phlebopus colossus as edible based on a later literature source. Bart Buyck's 2008 review describes it as edible but difficult to digest. In Thailand, a field study documents market sale and local names Hed Tab Tao Dam, Hed Nam Phung and Hed Har; other Thai sources describe its sale, collection and use as food.

These records document reported use; they are not a species-specific toxicology assessment or a recommendation to forage. Avoid extrapolating from broad edible claims for the genus.

Identification and safety

Phlebopus includes large, visually variable tropical boletes, and related taxa can be confused. The taxonomic name and historical photographs do not establish the identity of a wild lookalike. No species-specific clinical safety study was located for this account. The Madagascar literature describes the species as difficult to digest; do not present this entry as preparation or consumption advice.