Boletus caespitosus Pk. Cap 2-8cm across, convex to flattened; ochre-brown to reddish brown or pinkish; dry to distinctly viscid when wet. Tubes bright gold. Pores chrome yellow to golden yellow, unchanging. Stem 25-80 x 5-15mm usually swollen-attenuate at base, narrowed at apex and often caespitose; pale to yellow to pinkish buff below, brown on handling; dry to slightly viscid. Flesh pallid buff. Odor when crushed, strong unpleasant, like earthballs (scleroderma species). Taste mild. Spores ovoid to ellipsoid or fusiform, 8-11 x 3.5-5µ. Deposit olive-ochre. Habitat usually in dense clusters in mixed hardwoods, especially along stream and river edges. Found in northeastern North America, south to North Carolina. Season July-September. Edible. Comment This species is usually confused with Boletus auriporus, from which it differs in its smaller spores and the odor of Earth balls. The latter feature does not appear to have been noted by any previous author but has been confirmed on numerous collections by several different persons.