Boletus betulicola

Description

Boletus betulicola is closely related to the cep, or porcini. You may find it in birch coppices and mixed forests where birches dominate. Broad, flat or slightly convex cap covered with smooth, grey or yellow-brown skin and yellow underside of small pores belong the main characteristics of this mushroom. Cylindrical, white or pale yellowish stem covered with intricate netting, squat in young specimens, is also typical for this species. Mature fruit bodies grow 7 - 15 cm tall on average and their caps 10 - 15 cm broad, although some giants may develop 30-cm-broad caps.

Mushroom lovers will take interest in the exceptional gustatory value of the white flesh of the birch cep. It has a compact, firm texture, distinct, yet delicate fungal aroma and tender taste, similar to the taste of penny bun (porcini). The fruit bodies may be fried, stewed, boiled, roasted, or stir-fried and smell and taste deliciously dried, too.

Boletus edulis var. betulicola Vassilkov, 1948 is a synonym.

Common names: Birch Cep.

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   Up to30 cm in diameter, fleshy, first hemispherical, later convex-spread, pillow-spread, flat-spread. The surface of the cap is first pubescent, later smooth, slightly wrinkled, matte, slippery in wet weather, shiny, grayish-brown, grayish-nut-brown, in places of contact does not change color.

2. Hymenophore

   Pores are small, round, initially whitish, grayish, with age yellow-green, yellow-olive.

3. Spore Print

   Yellowish-olive.

4. Stem

   5 - 20 cm high, 2 - 7 cm in diameter, first tuberous, later club-shaped, extended to the base, longitudinally wrinkled, dense, fleshy, solid, white, grayish, grayish-brown, ocher, light brown.

5. Flesh

   The flesh is fleshy, dense, white, does not change color when cut, with a pleasant smell and taste.

Look-Alikes

1. Boletus pinophilus

   Has a dark brown, purple-tinged surface of the cap, grows in pine forests.

2. Boletus edulis

   Has a yellowish-brown surface of the cap, grows in oak and spruce forests.

3. Boletus reticulatus

   Has a gray-brown cap surface and a characteristic reticulate pattern on the surface of the stalk, growing in oak forests.

4. Boletus aereus

   Has a dark chocolate-brown surface with a bronze tint, and a stalk with a mesh surface and a bronze tint grow in oak forests.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Holger Krisp (CC BY 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Strobilomyces (CC BY-SA 3.0)