Bay watch! The Bay Bolete
The summer days so far have been a concoction of showery spells, the odd storm and quite a few blazing hot stretches. So even though it has been drier out there in the woods I still venture out. And today I was happy to find a great Bolete specimen.
The Bay Bolete (Imleria badia, previously Boletus badius) is one of the more common Boletes and fortunately one of the more tasty ones too. It can be found in all kinds of mixed woodland and has a season from July to November. So I was extra to happy to find one relatively early in the season.
Confusion with Cep or Penny Bun (Boletus edulus) and even the Suede Bolete (Boletus subtomentosus) is understandable, but the Cep’s pores do not turn blue/green on handling. The Suede Bolete does have blueing, but the velvety feel of the cap differs to the smoothness of the Bay Bolete.
Appearances (especially in size) can differ greatly from one Bay Bolete to another – Where they grow is one factor to consider. At first glance they look uncannily like Ceps when growing amongst pine needles on the woodland floor. When found growing in tall grass, they tend to have thinner and/or longer stems (and sometimes a slightly viscid cap) – just like this one here…
The cap can range in size from 4 – 14cm in width, the specimen shown here was roughly 11cm and was a lovely ochre brown colour, smooth to the touch but slightly sticky when wet. It’s stem which is streaked with the same colour as the cap, is cylindrical and smooth. It can grow up to 12.5cm and the thickness can range from 0.8 – 4cm.
Don’t miss out on the chance to grab a few as they’re great mushrooms to eat. It has a pleasant mushroom-like taste (smells mildly mushroomy too), and are especially more palatable when younger as the flesh is firmer. They are also good for drying too.
I’m sure more and more will pop up as the mushroom season starts to kick in. Enjoy…
The Bay Bolete – Notice the blue brusing on the pores when handled, and the slight blueing in flesh just above the tubes when cut in half.
The Genus BOLETUS (the Boletes): Characteristics to look out for: • Have pores (open ends of tubes) on the underside instead of gills. Easily separated from the cap. |
This Bay Bolete is growing in the middle of the woods. Notice the shorter/thicker stem.
With Boletus, if in doubt about Bitter Bolete, I nibble the edge to check. Not the red/orange Satan’s Bolete of course! I do the same with Russulas, which weeds out the hot ones.
Yes, sometimes it’s good to nibble to get the taste, works well with Milkcaps too. However, anyone else thinking of doing this must be 100% sure they’re dealing with Boletes, Milkcaps and/or Russula species.