Inedible lookalike
Bitter Bolete
Tylopilus felleus
The bitter bolete is larger, with a solid stem covered in a coarse brown net, pores that turn pinkish, and intensely bitter flesh.
Chestnut Bolete
Gyroporus castaneus
Edible
Also called chestnut gyroporus.
The chestnut bolete is a small, rusty orange-brown bolete of oak woods. Its brittle stem, which hollows out with age, and its pale yellow spore print set it apart from most other boletes.
The tell
A small, rusty-brown bolete with a brittle stem that becomes hollow and a pale yellow spore print.
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, 1 to 4 inches across. Rusty brown to chestnut or orange-brown, dry and finely velvety.
- Underside
- Pores instead of gills, small. White when young, becoming pale yellow. They do not bruise blue.
- Stem
- Colored like the cap, smooth to finely velvety, brittle, and becoming hollow or chambered inside with age. No ring and no netting.
- Flesh
- White, not changing color when cut.
- Spore print
- Pale yellow.
- Size
- Cap 1 to 4 inches (2.5 to 10 cm); stem 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 cm) tall.
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- On the ground in hardwood and mixed forests, especially with oaks, often along paths, banks and grassy edges.
- Grows on
- Soil, near the roots of oaks and other hardwoods.
- Season
- Summer through fall.
- Range
- Eastern North America. North American collections likely include several closely related species.
Lookalikes
What the chestnut bolete gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
Bluing bolete (Gyroporus cyanescens)
A close relative with a straw-yellow, coarsely fibrous cap. Its flesh and pores turn deep blue within seconds of being cut or bruised.
EdibleBay Bolete
Imleria badia
The bay bolete has a solid stem, yellow pores that bruise blue-green, and an olive-brown spore print.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Edible
Field guides list the chestnut bolete as edible. It is small and often scattered, and guides use the hollow stem and pale yellow spore print to separate it from other brown boletes.
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 chestnut bolete
Is the chestnut bolete edible?
Field guides list it as edible. It is easiest to recognize by its rusty brown color, brittle stem that hollows with age, and pale yellow spore print.
How do you identify a chestnut bolete?
Look for a small, dry, rusty brown cap, white to pale yellow pores that do not bruise blue, and a brittle stem the same color as the cap, hollow or chambered inside on older specimens.
Where does the chestnut bolete grow?
On the ground under oaks and other hardwoods in eastern North America, often along trails and on banks, from summer through fall.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Gyroporus castaneus
MushroomExpert.com
- Gyroporus castaneus
Index Fungorum
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