Originally described as Phylloporus boletinoides, Phylloporopsis boletinoides is the type species of the monotypic genus Phylloporopsis, created based on phylogenetic data (Farid et al. 2018).

Phylloporopsis boletinoides is found in eastern and southeastern USA, the Caribbean and Central America, in association with pine. Its distribution limits are not well defined, but it has a wide area of distribution, large population size (above 54,000 mature individuals) and an ability to adapt to different climates and establish relationships with different pine species. It is likely threatened in the Dominican Republic, but there is no evidence of a significant population decline in most of its range, so the species is assessed as Least Concern (LC).

Phylloporopsis boletinoides is known from the USA (along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, between Maine and Texas), Belize and the Dominican Republic. However, a wider distribution in Central America and the Antilles Islands is likely (Farid et al. 2018) and corroborated by DNA records of P. boletinoides from soil collected in Cuba (Vasar et al. 2022), which suggest the species may occur is this area.

Phylloporopsis boletinoides is known from at least 54 sites in North and Central America (Ortiz-Santana et al. 2007, Farid et al. 2018, MyCoPortal 2023, GBIF.org 2023), though the total number is expected to be higher. The ability to associate with different Pinus species, and adaptability to different climates (suggested by its distribution), indicate this species may have a large area of suitable habitat and wider distribution. It is likely this species may be under sampled outside of the USA, so the total number of sites is estimated at 5,400 to 27,000. Following guidelines by Dahlberg and Mueller (2011) and assuming 10 mature individuals exist per site, the population size is projected to be between 54,000 and 270,000 mature individuals. The local population of P. boletinoides in the Dominican Republic may be decreasing due to host decline, but a decrease in population is not expected in southeastern USA, where pines are planted for economic purposes.

Phylloporopsis boletinoides is an ectomycorrhizal species, found in association with Pinus spp. and sometimes in mixed forests of Pinus and Quercus, growing solitarily to gregariously. Fruitbodies may be found on soil or in woody substrata such as rotting wood or the base of living trees. Farid et al. (2018) hypothesize that this lignicolous growth may be a strategy to produce fruitbodies in elevated positions and improve spore dispersal, nutrient uptake and as protection from water-soaked soils, especially in Neotropical sites. Molecular analysis of ectomycorrhizal root samples has corroborated P. boletinoides’ association with Pinus clausa, but it has also been found with other Pinus species, namely P. occidentalis in the Dominican Republic and on a P. taeda stump in the USA (Farid et al. 2018). It is found in subtropical areas and in altitude in tropical areas (Farid et al. 2018) and in temperate areas in the northern part of its distribution.

Phylloporopsis boletinoides may be threatened in part of its range, in the Dominican Republic, since its local host and only pine species in the area, Pinus occidentalis, has been assessed as Endangered due to its small area of occupancy and population declines caused by timber overexploitation (Farjon 2013a). On the other hand, in southeastern USA, where most of P. boletinoides’ distribution is found, pine plantations have an important economic value. Plantations have increased in the past and this is projected to continue in the future (Duden et al. 2017), which may in turn benefit this species. Pinus taeda and Pinus clausa have also been assessed as Least Concern (Farjon 2013b,c). Still, some concerns over pine health and decline have been raised, caused by abiotic stressors and biotic factors such as outbreaks of the Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis), but this is not expected to be a region-wide threat, and instead occurs in localised areas (Coyle et al. 2015).

Habitat protection of Pinus occidentalis forests in the Dominican Republic is needed to prevent declines of Phylloporopsis boletinoides in this country. Search efforts in Central America and the Antilles Islands are needed to clarify distribution limits and improve estimates of the population size for this species and help establish what threats it faces in the region.