Rooting Bolete

Caloboletus radicans (Pers.) Vizzini

1 Observations

2 months ago Last Observed

The Rooting Bolete (Caloboletus radicans) is a big, pale bolete of oak and beech woodland and parkland, favouring chalky or limestone soils and most often found in southern England. Its dull white to buff cap often cracks with age and sits on a thick, barrel-shaped yellow stem with a fine net pattern and a tapering, rooting base.

The pores are bright yellow and, like the flesh, turn blue when bruised or cut. It is intensely bitter, which is a useful clue but makes it inedible. Similar species include the Bitter Beech Bolete (Caloboletus calopus), which has a reddish stem and prefers beech, and the poisonous Devil's Bolete (Rubroboletus satanas), which has red pores and a red-netted stem. It fruits from summer into autumn.

Spore Print

Season

Native

unknown

Distribution

Widespread

Habitat

Occurs with deciduous trees, mainly Quercus and Fagus

Etymology

Caloboletus means 'beautiful bolete', from Greek kalos, 'beautiful', and Boletus, the Roman name for a prized mushroom. radicans is Latin for 'rooting', after the tapering stem base.

Cap

Cap 10-20 cm across, convex and smooth, white to buff. The surface often cracks with age, and mature caps may also become dented and irregularly lobed.

Colour
Shape	Convex
Surface	Smooth
Width	10 - 20 cm

Pores

Small, bright yellow pores that bruise blue when touched.

Colour
Shape	Round
Size	small
Bruising

Tubes

Colour

Flesh

Pale yellow and firm, turning blue when cut. Very bitter.

Colour
Odour	Pungent, curry-like
Taste	Bitter

Stem

Stem thick and barrel-shaped, 5-8 cm tall and 30-40 mm wide, rooting at the base and sometimes with a thin red zone there. It is pale yellow, lemon yellow at the apex, with a fine yellow reticulum under the pores, and bruises sky-blue.