The Bay Bolete (Imleria badia) is named for its cap, the rich reddish-brown of a bay horse. Velvety when young and sticky when wet, the cap sits above pale yellow pores that turn greyish-blue when pressed. The stem is pale yellow streaked with reddish-brown, with no net pattern, and the white flesh is reddish-brown just under the cap skin.
It grows in both conifer and broadleaf woodland, especially beech, usually singly or in twos and threes, from June into December. It is widespread and common.
The Penny Bun (Boletus edulis) has a white net on the stem and pores that don't turn blue. The Bay Bolete is a good edible.
| Season | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Distribution
Widespread and common
Habitat
In both coniferous and broadleaved woodland, especially Fagus
Etymology
Imleria honours the Belgian mycologist Louis Imler. badia is Latin for 'bay-coloured', the reddish-brown of a bay horse.
Associates
Fagus
Conservation
Cap
The cap is reddish-brown to yellowish-brown or orange-brown, 5-12 cm across and convex. It is slightly velvety (tomentose) when young, then polished, and often viscid when wet; the darker form is more common in coniferous woodland.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex |
| Surface | Viscid, Tomentose |
| Width | 5 - 12 cm |
Pores
Pale yellow and angular, turning greyish-blue when pressed.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Bruising |
Tubes
Pale yellow, turning blue when cut.
| Colour |
|---|
Flesh
The flesh is white to pale yellow, reddish-brown just below the cuticle, and turns slightly blue above the tubes and at the stem top. The smell is pleasant and fruity and the taste mild.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Pleasant, fruity |
| Taste | Mild |
Stem
Pale yellow streaked with reddish-brown fibres, without a net; often curved near the base.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 4.5 - 12.5 cm |
| Width | 10 - 40 mm |
| Texture | Smooth |
| Shape | Clavate, Cylindric, Tapering |
| Bruising |
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Subfusiform, Fusiform |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 12.5-16 x 4-5 μm |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Boletales
- ↳ Family: Boletaceae
- ↳ Genus: Imleria
Synonyms
- Boletus badius (Fr.) Fr.
- Boletus badius Fr.
- Boletus castaneus β badius Fr.
- Ixocomus badius (Fr.) Quél.
- Xerocomus badius (Fr.) E.-J. Gilbert
- Xerocomus badius (Fr.) Kuhner apud Gilbert
Reference Sources
G. Kibby (2017) British Boletes with keys to species. Geoffrey Kibby.
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
R. Phillips (2006) Mushrooms. Macmillan.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 1. Geoffrey Kibby.
Genus Imleria
No other species found in this genus.
