How to Identify a Boletus
The boletus mushroom species grows as a fungi with spores that reproduce rather than seeds. The boletus has a specific shape and features some peculiarities that help foragers identify it. Boletus mushroom are native to moderately warm and damp places, such as California, and have been used in many ethnic cuisines.
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Instructions
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Examine the spores on the underside of the umbrella-like top. This top, also called the pileus, has many hundreds of hyphae, or ribbed lines of flesh. Inside the folds of hyphae, you will see the spores. Examine the spores under a microscope to determine the true color. To the naked eye, there could be many color variations throughout a single specimen. However, under a microscope, you will notice that the spores of the boletus are always brown or brown with a dark green tint.
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Notice the overall shape of the mushroom. A boletus has a thick trunk, almost half the diameter of the pileus. This trunk, also referred to as the stipe cuticle, is elongated and often curved by the weight of the pileus. The pileus is steep and thick in comparison to common mushrooms.
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Look at the stipe cuticle, locating any possible markings or features. Unlike common mushrooms, boletus mushrooms do not have scabers on the stipe cuticle. Scabers are very fine, hair-like features that appear on mushrooms like the portabella. Also, some mushrooms, like the suillus, feature glandular dots on the trunk. These represent pigment changes in the mushroom flesh. Boletus mushrooms do not carry the glandular dots.
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Tips & Warnings
The color of a boletus mushroom cannot be accurately used in identification of the species. Throughout the life cycle and as the weather fluctuates, the mushroom may shift in color, thus making it an unreliable source. The pileus and the stipe may be of the same color or they may not. The only helpful color identification is of the spores. The spores never change, and they differ from other closely resembling species, such as the leccium.
References
- Photo Credit spring boletus image by siloto from Fotolia.com
