BOLETUS BICOLOR & ITS LOOK-ALIKES – (East...

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1 BOLETUS BICOLOR & ITS LOOK-ALIKES – East Coast (10/1/13) The Bicolor Group is common in New England and telling them apart is subtle. They all have strongly contrasting yellow pores to red/brown caps, yellow & red on stipes. Most of them are damn good edibles and it is often easier to find large quantities of B. bicolor than B. edulus and some like it just as much. However, of the half dozen species similar to Boletus bicolor, the only one that can actually make you sick is B. sensibilis, which can cause severe gastro illness for a day or so. You can break your brain trying to tell them apart. B. sensibilis has a brick red cap, not a brown cap, a mostly yellow stipe, and it stains blue instantly on the stem, cap, & pores. Only the pores on the B. bicolor stain. On ALL boletes, if you test for staining, take care not to swipe your knife from cap to pore to stem because the staining material can be spread and deceive you as to what is actually staining. Pictures can be confusing but the totality of the features should be the key. Pore shapes (angular vs circular) can vary with the age and ‘stretching’ of the pore material. Staining may take many minutes, or not at all, with age being a very important factor. Boletus bicolor Boletus bicolor Notes: Red-brown cap on top, yellow pores below, thus Bicolor. Yellow flesh, no reticulations, barely or slowly stains blue or ‘wet’ looking, if at all, and only on pores. Very abundant during season. Cap: 2”-6”. Velvety texture, evenly reddish or pink-red, often inrolled margin. Color fades to yellowish red, not pinkish red, toward margin. Staining: Quick staining on pores, but not staining on stem or cap flesh at all. Stipe: Can be moderately thin, or quite thick. Dense when young, stems often get worms but they tend to leave the cap alone. Stipe is striate with long graphic lines. It is the color of the cap and turns a bit, or a lot, yellow as it reaches the cap. Somewhat clavate or fairly equal. Pores: Pale yellow, angular, bruise a wet blue, tubes not indented at stipe when young, very shallow compared to thickness of cap flesh, dense & tiny, broadly attach to stipe, maybe a bit decurrent. Flesh: Light yellow, stipe is bolder yellow, rarely bruises blue slowly in 5 to 15 seconds or just ‘wet’ looking. Taste/Smell: Not lemony. Choice edible. Habitat: Oak only. (Boetus bicolor variation subreticulatus is identical but reticulate at top of stipe, just to add to the confusion.) Boletus sensibilis Boletus sensibilis Notes: THE NON-EDIBLE ONE of this group. Hardwoods (oak) on sandy soil. Staining can be very faint with age. Cap: 2”-7”. Pinkish-red, often yellow spots at margin, Flesh stain fades to brown-red. Staining: Turns blue, all the flesh. Can be instant. Stipe: Yellow with some red only. Thick, solid. Lightly reticulate at top, if at all. Pores: Blue instantly. Circular. Pale yellow fades to grey-blue or brown-yellow. Flesh: Pale yellow, quickly bluing then fading to whitish. Taste/Smell: No taste. Curry.

Transcript of BOLETUS BICOLOR & ITS LOOK-ALIKES – (East...

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BOLETUS BICOLOR & ITS LOOK-ALIKES – East Coast (10/1/13) The Bicolor Group is common in New England and telling them apart is subtle. They all have strongly contrasting yellow pores to red/brown caps, yellow & red on stipes. Most of them are damn good edibles and it is often easier to find large quantities of B. bicolor than B. edulus and some like it just as much. However, of the half dozen species similar to Boletus bicolor, the only one that can actually make you sick is B. sensibilis, which can cause severe gastro illness for a day or so. You can break your brain trying to tell them apart. B. sensibilis has a brick red cap, not a brown cap, a mostly yellow stipe, and it stains blue instantly on the stem, cap, & pores. Only the pores on the B. bicolor stain. On ALL boletes, if you test for staining, take care not to swipe your knife from cap to pore to stem because the staining material can be spread and deceive you as to what is actually staining. Pictures can be confusing but the totality of the features should be the key. Pore shapes (angular vs circular) can vary with the age and ‘stretching’ of the pore material. Staining may take many minutes, or not at all, with age being a very important factor.

Boletus bicolor Boletus bicolor Notes: Red-brown cap on top, yellow pores below, thus Bicolor. Yellow flesh, no reticulations, barely or slowly stains blue or ‘wet’ looking, if at all, and only on pores. Very abundant during season. Cap: 2”-6”. Velvety texture, evenly reddish or pink-red, often inrolled margin. Color fades to yellowish red, not pinkish red, toward margin. Staining: Quick staining on pores, but not staining on stem or cap flesh at all. Stipe: Can be moderately thin, or quite thick. Dense when young, stems often get worms but they tend to leave the cap alone. Stipe is striate with long graphic lines. It is the color of the cap and turns a bit, or a lot, yellow as it reaches the cap. Somewhat clavate or fairly equal. Pores: Pale yellow, angular, bruise a wet blue, tubes not indented at stipe when young, very shallow compared to thickness of cap flesh, dense & tiny, broadly attach to stipe, maybe a bit decurrent. Flesh: Light yellow, stipe is bolder yellow, rarely bruises blue slowly in 5 to 15 seconds or just ‘wet’ looking. Taste/Smell: Not lemony. Choice edible. Habitat: Oak only. (Boetus bicolor variation subreticulatus is identical but reticulate at top of stipe, just to add to the confusion.)

Boletus sensibilis Boletus sensibilis Notes: THE NON-EDIBLE ONE of this group. Hardwoods (oak) on sandy soil. Staining can be very faint with age. Cap: 2”-7”. Pinkish-red, often yellow spots at margin, Flesh stain fades to brown-red. Staining: Turns blue, all the flesh. Can be instant. Stipe: Yellow with some red only. Thick, solid. Lightly reticulate at top, if at all. Pores: Blue instantly. Circular. Pale yellow fades to grey-blue or brown-yellow. Flesh: Pale yellow, quickly bluing then fading to whitish. Taste/Smell: No taste. Curry.

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Boletus campestris Boletus campestris Notes: Much more slender & a smaller mushroom than Bicolor. Very similar to Fraternus & Rubellus. Cap: ¾”–1-½”. Small, rosy-red or brick-red. Hints of yellow w/age. Even margin. Can be slightly cracked when old. Staining: Pores, cap & stipe stain green-blue. Stipe: Slender, equal, not tapered at base, solid. Colored like cap and yellow at top. Pores: Quickly stains, but not instantly. Tubes yellow turning green-yellow, fairly deep compared to thickness of cap flesh. Depressed near stipe. Taste/Smell: None. Habitat: Always near grass.

Boletus fraternus Boletus fraternus Notes: Near grass, woods, gardens. Very similar to Campestris & Rubellus. Cap: ¾”–2”. Red then yellow-red. Dry, velvety, cracking with age & pinker or duler w/age. Staining: Quickly or slowly bluing. Stipe: May taper at base. Yellow with, or without red. Often striate at top. Pores: Depressed at stipe. Yellow when young, brown-yellow with age. Angular. Taste/Smell: Odor none.

Boletus rubellus Boletus rubellus Notes: Very similar to Campestris & Fraternus. Cap: ¾”-3”. Flattens & slight cracking w/age, velvety tomentose. Dark red to brick. Flesh yellow slowly staining blue/greenish. Staining: Slowly stains blue/green, not quickly. Stipe: Often tapered at base. Covered with red/orange dots. Stipe flesh stains orange at base. Pores: Large, stain olive or blue/green. Often notched with age. Angular. Taste/Smell: None

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Boletus miniato-palescens Boletus miniato-palescens Notes: Cap fading to apricot or orange-yellow is distinctive. Cap: 3”-7”. Brick-red to orange-red, fading to apricot or orange-yellow. Often surface cracks. Does not respond to ammonia. Staining: Pores stain blue instantly. Stipe sometimes only. Stipe: Bright yellow above to cap color below. Pale yellow flesh. Flesh stains instantly. Pores: Bright yellow, very small, circular. Quickly stain green-blue then, minutes later brown. Taste/Smell: None.

Boletus pseudosensibilis Boletus pseudosensibilis Notes: Very similar to Sensibilis but no odor. Cap: 2”-6”. Pink-red to red-orange, fading to brown-red. Smooth, margin is even. Ammonia makes blue flash even old ones. White to pale yellow flesh. Staining: Quickly blue. Over time it should turn brown Stipe: Thick, solid, even color smooth, with no striations. Mostly yellow with some pale red/brown at base, if at all. Less red than most others in this group. Deep yellow flesh. Pores: Pores short, yellow, quickly bruise blue then turn brown. Taste/Smell: Not recorded.

Boletus pallidoroseus Boletus pallidoroseus Notes: Pink color of stem & cap is distinctive & yellowing at margin. Cap: 2”-7”. Margin inrolled when young. Pale pink to distinctive pale yellow at margin. Staining: Blues slowly on cap. Pores bruise blue. Stipe slowly. Stipe: Thick, solid. Reticulate & yellow at top. Cut flesh is darker than cap flesh. Pores: Circular, yellow. Bright when young. Olive to brown-yellow with age. Taste/Smell: A pleasant beef bullion. No taste.

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Boletus bicoloroides

Boletus bicoloroides Notes: Large size, completely red stem, inrolled margin is distinctive. Cap: 2”-6”. Dry, not cracked when old, vine red then ochre, inrolled margin Staining: Cap flesh blues. May stain slowly. Stipe: thick, equal, solid, fully dark red Pores: Yellos, stain blue, angular, notched at stipe Taste/Smell: None Comments earnestly welcomed, and will integrate into future revisions. Information distilled from dialogues with members of Boston Mycological Club (special thanks to Bill Neill), thanks to Alan Bessette, books by Lincoff, Phillips, Bessette, Aurora, & Barron among others, Kuo’s Mushroom Expert, and also field notes. Caution when eating any mushrooms as the final decision is always up to you.-Gary Gilbert-Boston Mycological Club