Macroscopic variability of <i>Rubroboletus legaliae</i> with special regard to <i>Boletus spinarii</i>.

The paper deals with the macroscopic variability of Rubroboletus legaliae . A detailed macroscopic description of this species is presented, based on collections from the region of the type locality in Central Bohemia. An epitype is selected because of the age and insufficient representativeness of the holotype. The authors point out that Boletus spinarii , a species described by Hlaváček from South Bohemia as a member of the B. regius complex (genus Butyriboletus at present), is conspecific with the previously described Boletus legaliae (genus Rubroboletus at present); therefore the name B. spinarii is a synonymous name. The alleged distinguishing character of B. spinarii – orange, cinnabar to brick-red pores when young, soon changing colour to orange-yellow or yellow – is occasional according to our long-term field observations, caused possibly by external factors and not fixed within individual mycelia of R. legaliae . The taxonomic value of this deviation is not important enough to consider a separate taxon. Comparison of ITS rDNA sequences supports the conspecifity of both species. Although the name B. spinarii was validly published, the holotype was not deposited in the herbarium designated in the protologue. Therefore, a neotype is designated here.