Boletopsis subsquamosa (Fr.) Kotlaba & Pouz. Fruit body annual. Cap up to 15cm across, 4cm thick in center, circular to irregular outline, with thin wavy margin; bluish black to grayish brown tinged with olive; fleshy becoming soft or brittle and slightly wrinkled when dry. Tubes up to 8mm deep; white to greenish white, paler than the flesh. Pores 1-3 per mm, angular, thin-walled, decurrent; surface white drying pale grayish. Stem up to 7 x 3cm, central to lateral; gray to sordid olive-brown; smooth or with fine dark scales, fleshy becoming wrinkled when dry. Flesh up to 3cm thick; white when fresh but darkens when touched, becoming greenish gray when dry, often darker just above the tubes. Odor slight. Taste weak to bitterish when fresh, sweetish to spicy when dry. Spores angular to oval, with warty projections, 5-7 x 4-5µ. Deposit light or dark brown. Hyphal structure monomitic; clamps present. Habitat on the ground in deciduous or coniferous woods, especially pine. Found in eastern North America, the Pacific Northwest, and California. Season September-October. Edible. Comment Although the name suggests a boletus, this is, in fact, a polypore. |