The following names seem to refer to the same scientific name:

HET HA (เห็ดห้า)

HET NAM PHUENG (เห็ดน้ำผึ้ง)

HET TAP TAO (เห็ดตับเต่า)

Many sites refer to them as:

(1) Phaeogyroporus portentosus (Phlebopus portentosus) - which I am calling a 'Thai black bolete'. These PP species are also often linked to Phlebopus marginatus, but I believe that they are not related.

A few sites also list them as:

(2) Boletus edulis - porcino

I have a feeling that they may be an indigenous Thai variety of (1), however they do also look similar to some photos of (2), although references to this are few.

Can anyone possibly confirm this? Any information you can provide would be sincerely appreciated. I have spent many many hours trying to confirm this.

Thank you for your help.

Edited November 23, 201510 yr by Kanga Japan

First question: are these names synonyms?

It appears yes. Reading http://library.cmu.ac.th/ntic/lannafood/detail_ingredient.php?id_ingredient=126 we find

ห็ดตับเต่า HET TAP TAO

เห็ดห้า HET HA Northern dialect. (It appears that HA is a dialect form of WA - Syzygium cumini. These mushrooms commonly grow close to it.)

เห็ดผึ้ง เห็ดน้ำผึ้ง HET PHUENG, HET NAM PHUENG Isaan dialect

เห็ดกลางดง HET KLANG DONG.

Second question: what is the binomial name?

Well, it's not Boletus edulis. That's the English "cep" or Italian "porcini". Absolutely delicious, very expensive, but not grown in Thailand.

It's Phlebopus marginatus as it's currently known. It previously had some other scientific names - some of them Boletus (even though not closely related to boletes), and also Phaeogyroporus portentosus as you have. Other past names at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlebopus_marginatus

Common name is apparently salmon gum mushroom. The alternative "tropical black bolete" is misleading because it's not a bolete.

Dear AyG,

Thank you for that information. I was not aware of HET KLANG DONG.

OK. We agree that:

1. They are all synonyms.

2. Their scientific name is not Boletus edulis.

Now, regarding exactly what scientific name they are, for ages I had the scientific name shown as:

Phaeogyroporus portentosus (Phlebopus marginatus) - salmon gum mushroom.

Phlebopus marginatus, being in the Boletales order makes it a bolete (at least that is my understanding, from what I have read).

I had read that Phaeogyroporus portentosus had been renamed as Phlebopus marginatus, however when I was trying to find the Japanese name, I started to check it again. I came across some sites which doubted this connection and, on top of that, Phlebopus marginatus has a flat cap, sometimes over 1 metre in diameter.

The photos which I came across for HET TAP TAO, etc. were quite different, with a curved cap (rather than flat).

I understand that the Phlebopus genus is a suborder of the Boletales order and that Phaeogyroporus portentosus is sometimes referred to as 'black bolete'.

I am attaching the photo which I intend to use for HET TAP TAO, etc. and hope it is correct. As you can see, it is quite different from the salmon gum mushroom.

Thank you for your help on this.

Have a look at page 12. It seems pretty definitive to me. Can't explain why it's smaller in Thailand than in Australia, though.

http://archive.lib.cmu.ac.th/full/T/2552/biol0652nt_ch2.pdf

Thank you for that AyG.

I have seen many sites confirming this, however I was completely put off by the fact that the Thai variety are so different in shape (the caps) to the Australian ones (I understand these are also in New Zealand). I could understand that the sizes may differ (everything's bigger in Australia).

I will change my scientific terms again, back to the original, however the shape still makes me somewhat uneasy.

Thank you so much for your help on this - possibly my last post for a while (except for a final 'thank you'). I will be making a final check on the dictionary tonight.