Red Cracking Bolete

Description:

Young specimens of B. chrysenteron often have a dark, dry surface, and tomentose caps which might easily be mistaken for Bay Boletes B. badius. When fully expanded, caps are 4 to 10 cm in diameter with very little substance and thin flesh that turns a blue color when slightly cut or bruised. Caps mature to convex and plane in old age. Cracks in the mature cap reveal a thin layer of red flesh below the skin. The 10 to 15 mm diameter stems have no ring, are bright yellow and the lower part is covered in coral-red fibrils and has a constant elliptical to fusiform diameter throughout its length of 4 to 8 cm tall. The cream-colored stem flesh turns blue when cut. B. chrysenteron has large, yellow, angular pores, and produces an olive brown spore print.

Habitat:

Grows solitary or in small groups in hardwood/conifer woods from early fall to mid-winter. It is mycorrhizal with hardwood trees, often beech on well drained soils. It is frequent in parts of the northern temperate zones.

Notes:

Boletus chrysenteron is considered edible but not desirable due to bland flavor and soft texture.