Caloboletus radicans
Rooting Bolete
Status:
Uncommon.
From the Greek meaning 'pretty lump of clay'
Cap:
6-20 cm
Stem:
4-10 cm
Meaning rooting
Description
A large Bolete which grows low to the ground, often the misshapen caps can be confused to stones or rocks on the ground. The cap in more mature specimens is often dinted, grooved or covered in scales, but when you turn the mushroom over you can see the lovely bright yellow pores and bits of red on the stem. When cut in half there is sometimes a red colour to the base of the stem and the rest of the flesh slowly turns blue and then shortly after the blue begins to fade.
Smell
Slightly peppery but never strong.
Season
Summer to Autumn.
Habitat & Distribution
Grows with deciduous trees, nearly always Beech (Fagus) and Oak (Quercus). It is often found growing at the side of roads and paths where the soil is slightly more compacted. More frequently encountered in the south where it is Occasional, it happens to grow very close to Discover the Wild in the north but it would still be considered a Scarce find up here, practically absent from Scotland.
Edibility
Not Edible. Considered too bitter and foul tasting.
Confusion Species
Spores
10-15 x 4-6µ, subfusiform.
Spore Print Colour
Olivaceous - brown.
The Iodine Bolete (Hemileccinum impolitus) grows in similar habitat and grows to around the same size, it does not turn blue when cut though and has a smell of Iodine in the base of the stem.
The Bitter Beech Bolete (Caloboletus calopus) is a smaller less robust species, it has a more obvious red stem which extends over much of it. The stem of the Bitter Beech Bolete is not woody at the very base.