Ceps & Bolete-eater

Description:

A clump of "deformed' bolete mushrooms with white cottony covering of a parasitic fungus.
The boletes were varied in size with the widest being about 40 mm across. Caps were brown and firm to touch. The fertile undersurface showed fine pores. The stipe had a faint pink blush and was thick, becoming wider towards the base. A section of the mushroom showed pale flesh which did not change colour when bruised. Spore print (pics 5 & 6) was cream or pale yellow. Most of the fungal caps and stipe were covered with a soft white fungus

Habitat:

Spotted on the outer edge of a clump of native trees in a nature reserve. There were a few young pine trees, but they were a distance away. Not native to Australia, Porcini mushrooms now grow in South Australia. They were once not seen in the Southern Hemisphere.

Notes:

I assume that these are Ceps or Porcini mushrooms given all the features that match. I will need confirmation of the ID.
They are often attacked by the "bolete eater" an ascomycete parasitic fungus-information below http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypomyces_c... Order: Boletales family: Boletaceae