Inedible lookalike
Bitter Bolete
Tylopilus felleus
The bitter bolete's pores turn pinkish rather than greenish yellow, they do not bruise blue, and its stem carries a coarse brown net. Its flesh is intensely bitter.
Bay Bolete
Imleria badia
Edible
Also called bay-brown bolete, boletus badius, xerocomus badius.
The bay bolete is a chestnut-brown bolete of northern conifer woods, named for its bay-horse color. Its pale yellow pores bruise blue-green, which separates it from the king bolete and from the bitter bolete.
The tell
A chestnut-brown cap over pale yellow pores that bruise blue-green, on a smooth brown stem with no netting.
Field marks
What to look at
Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.
- Cap
- Convex, flattening with age, 2 to 6 inches across. Bay brown to chestnut or reddish brown, smooth, slightly velvety when dry and sticky when wet.
- Underside
- Pores instead of gills. Whitish to pale yellow when young, becoming greenish yellow, bruising blue to blue-green.
- Stem
- Brown, paler than the cap, with fine lengthwise streaks. No netting and no ring.
- Flesh
- White to pale yellow, sometimes staining slightly blue when cut, especially above the pores.
- Spore print
- Olive-brown.
- Size
- Cap 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm); stem 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) tall.
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- On the ground under conifers, especially eastern white pine and hemlock, and in mixed woods. Sometimes on well-rotted stumps.
- Grows on
- Soil and decayed wood near host trees.
- Season
- Summer through fall.
- Range
- Northeastern North America and the Great Lakes, south along the Appalachians.
Lookalikes
What the bay bolete gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
EdibleKing Bolete
Boletus edulis
The king bolete is heavier, with a fat, netted stem and pores that do not bruise blue.
EdibleChestnut Bolete
Gyroporus castaneus
The chestnut bolete has a dry, velvety cap, white pores that do not bruise blue, a brittle stem that becomes hollow, and a pale yellow spore print.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Edible
Field guides list the bay bolete as edible. Its blue-green bruising is a normal feature of the species, and guides use it, with the smooth stem and greenish-yellow pores, to separate it from the bitter bolete.
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
FAQ
Questions about the bay bolete
Is the bay bolete edible?
Field guides list it as edible. The blue-green bruising on its pores is normal for the species.
Why does the bay bolete turn blue?
Many boletes contain compounds that turn blue when exposed to air after the tissue is damaged. In the bay bolete the pale yellow pores bruise blue to blue-green when pressed, and the flesh may stain slightly blue when cut.
Where does the bay bolete grow?
On the ground under conifers, especially eastern white pine and hemlock, across northeastern North America and the Great Lakes region, from summer through fall.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Imleria badia
MushroomExpert.com
- Imleria badia
Index Fungorum
Waitlist
Hear when it opens
We will send one email when Mushrooms.id opens, and nothing else.
Email us to join
This opens your email app with the request written for you. Send it and we add you to the list. No email app? Write to hello@mushrooms.id with the subject “Add me to the Mushrooms.id waitlist”.