Retiboletus griseus (“Gray Bolete”)

Likes oak. Dark brown bug holes w/bright yellow stains. White flesh may slowly redden. Coarse yellow-brown netting that darkens w/age. Gray (pale, brownish or dark) cap.

SKU: Boletus griseus Categories: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Description

Name in North American Boletes: Boletus griseus

Genus: Retiboleteus

  • Genus 2: Boletus
  • Genus 3: Xercomus

Species: griseus

Common Name: “Gray Bolete”

Tells: Likes oak. Dark brown bug holes w/bright yellow stains. White flesh may slowly redden. Coarse yellow-brown netting that darkens w/age. Gray (pale, brownish or dark) cap.

Other Information: Has an unfortunate tendency to be bug-infested, which makes the yellow-stained holes in the stem flesh a key tell. Cap may develop yellow-brownish tints w/age, and white-gray stem may develop yellow tones by base or reddish stains anywhere. Pores usually DNS but may bruise gray or brown. Likes oak. The pine-loving counterpart, Retiboletus vinaceipes, is hard to distinguish if you don’t know the tree associate. It tends to be more red than yellow at the stipe base and has netting that is slightly less coarse, but those are gradations rather than distinctions.

Science Notes: DNA testing moved this mushroom into the newly erected genus “Retiboletus.”

Edibility: Good.

CHEMICAL TESTS:

  • NH4OH (Ammonia): No data.
  • KOH: No data.
  • FeSO4 (Iron Salts): Cap flesh usually turns bluish gray.

Links:

National Audubon Society Field guide to Mushrooms, Gary Lincoff 570 Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians 302 North American Boletes 116 BENA 297

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