A bay-brown capped bolete with pores that bruise slowly blue, a common autumn edible of European forests.
Where it grows
The bay bolete fruits from late summer to late autumn, often well into November after the porcini season has finished. It is closely associated with conifer plantations, especially Norway spruce and Scots pine, and is also found under beech.
How to recognise it
The cap is a rich bay brown with a smooth, slightly greasy surface — drier and darker than a porcini’s. The pore surface starts cream and yellows with age, and bruises slowly to a soft blue-green where rubbed. The stem is finely streaked but lacks the raised network of a true porcini.
Edibility & cautions
A choice edible — many foragers rate it nearly the equal of porcini, and its later season makes it especially valuable. The slight bluing is normal and disappears in cooking. No dangerous look-alikes among the bolete community here; the red-pored toxic boletes are bright red beneath, not yellow.
Culinary use
Slice and pan-fry in butter; freezes and dries well for winter stews and risottos.
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Bay Bolete starts with B and ends with E. Browse other mushrooms along the same letter.
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