Cap
|
The cap colour of this massive bolete is very
variable. It can be dark chocolate brown, pale brown or even, as in this
mature specimen, coppery bronze. The cap flesh is yellow, rapidly bluing
when cut or bruised.
Caps are initially downy and convex, becoming flatter, smooth and shiny
as the fruiting body matures. The diameter at maturity varies between 8
and 20 cm. |
Tubes and Pores
|
Orange at first, the round, crowded pores soon
become bright red and then rusty brown with age.
The spore tubes are lemon yellow, but they very quickly turn blue-green
when cut or bruised. |
Stipe
|
Apart from a pale area near the apex, a pattern of tiny red dots covers most
of the stem of this mushroom. (A hand lens may be necessary to distinguish
the separate dots on some specimens.)
Typically 2 to 4 cm in diameter and more or less parallel sided, stems
range between 7 and 15 cm tall and have yellow flesh that instantly turns
blue-green when cut or bruised. |
Spore print |
Olive-brown. |
Odour/taste |
Not distinctive. |
Habitat |
On acid soils under conifers and occasionally
deciduous trees, most often at the edge of a wood or a clearing. |
Season |
August to October. |
Occurrence |
Fairly frequent. |
Similar species |
- Boletus satanus has a bulbous, bright red stem; it is
poisonous.
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