New Insights from Two Historic Boletellus-Type Specimens in China Based on Next-Generation Sequencing

Boletellus is a morphologically distinctive genus within the family Boletaceae, characterized by basidiospores with longitudinally striate ornamentation. Although the species diversity of this genus in China has been well documented in recent years, several historically described species published by early Chinese mycologists have been largely overlooked. To clarify the taxonomic identities of these historic Boletellus species from China, this study applied a genome-skimming approach to perform next-generation sequencing (NGS) on the historical type specimens of B. serpentipileus and B. vulgaris. The integration of NGS data with Sanger sequencing and morphological re-examination enabled a comprehensive taxonomic reassessment, which revealed that B. serpentipileus and B. vulgaris are not members of Boletellus, but belong to Leccinum and Austroboletus, respectively. Accordingly, the new combination Leccinum serpentipileum is proposed, and B. vulgaris is further synonymized with A. fusisporus. These findings resolve long-standing taxonomic uncertainties and contribute to a more accurate understanding of bolete diversity in China.