(70 votes, average: 3.73 out of 5)
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Bay Bolete
Edible 
Autumn 
Summer 
The Bay Bolete is a great mushroom and not far from the Penny Bun in gastronomic value. So much so, we could not differentiate between the two in a blind taste test, with only the less firm texture of the Bay Bolete giving it away.
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | Bay Bolete (EN), Cap Tyllog Gwinau Cleisiog (CY), Podgrzyb Brunatny (PL), Barna Tinóru (HU) |
| Scientific Name | Boletus / Imleria badia |
| Synonyms | Boletus badius |
| Season Start | Aug |
| Season End | Nov |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | 5-8 |
| Average Cap width (CM) | 5-8 |
Cap
5-8 cm. Often starts spherical opening to convex and flattening with age. A bit velvety when young, smooth and shiny when mature. Dark brown or brown/brick coloured, slightly slimy when wet.
Pores
Pale yellow pores, bruising rapidly to a blue/green.
Stem
5-8 cm long, 1-4 cm diameter. Pale brown looking vertically fibrous over a paler yellow/tan background. Can be quite thick.
Flesh
White/pale yellow. Staining pale blue/green on cutting especially in the cap.
Habitat
Mixed woodland.
Possible Confusion
Can look like other Boletes (see Penny Bun, pictured,) but if you stick to the simple rule of avoiding any Bolete with red on the stem, pores or cap and any Bolete whose flesh turns rapidly blue when cut you will only pick edible Boletes. You will be missing out on some good edibles with that rule but you will be keeping yourself 100% safe.
Spore Print
Green/brown. Subfusiform.
Taste / Smell
Good when fresh with the pores removed, better when dried.
Frequency
Common.
Other Facts
A great find as Bay Boletes don’t often host maggots.
17 comments for Bay Bolete
You say avoid any Bolete whose flesh turns rapidly blue when you cut, then for the bay boletus you say flesh – “Staining pale blue/green on cutting”. So how do you tell the difference?
Hi Paul, I’m afraid that with the Bay Bolete you have to go by the stem, cap and habitat as it does break the rule of not eating blue fleshed Boletes. However, the poisonous Boletes have a very rapid colour change, within two to three seconds and stain dark or strong blue, the Bay Bolete takes several seconds to stain pale blue and it doesn’t always stain.
The scarlatina does crazy blue on cutting but is very delicious
I need to know if the cap should be /or is slimy/sticky ? The ones I have found were on my golf course in the side of a dry ditch under fir trees it was wet at the time of picking and the cap is very sticky. Is it a feature? Thanks Rod Clay
Hi Rod, this mushroom has a slimy cap when wet but if the conditions are dry it can have a dry, very finely felty when young, cap.
Any favorite recipes you like or anybody else likes??
West Country stroganoff is a great way of cooking bay boletes.
Ive found what look like bay bolets but they don’t bruise are v pungent mushroomy smelling ? Must they bruise blue?
The pores of a Bay Bolete should bruise blue so I can’t say without seeing the mushrooms.
Hi there, I think I have been lucky enough to have Bay bolete growing on my front lawn. The cap is slimy when wet and chestnut brown. My lawn is mossy and there is a large lime tree nearby. I can’t see any reticulation but the stem is light brown and a bit stripy in places. The underside however appears to have got quite dry in the sun and has gone brown. Can see underneath is a yellow colour. They do bruise when squished a bit and when I cut them open there is some oxidisation on the flesh near the pores that then disappears. I will dry them out but want to be 100% sure of these. Is there anything dangerous that I could confuse these with. I only ask because the underside has gone a brown colour rather than a pale yellow, but like I said I think this is because we have had some very hot days. I can send pics if needed.
I would need pictures of the cap, pores and stem to be able to safely ID a mushroom.
This was my first real find yesterday as a novice forager, the beautiful dark brown cap helped me identify it immediately. It’s a really beautiful mushroom.
The unique stem colouring confirmed it and the green/blue bruising on the pores when I pressed down reassured me it was a Bay Bolete.
First time I’ve ever eaten a mushroom I’ve foraged! And it was delicious. Not as strong as a porcini, not as good as a chanterelle (in my opinion) but very close!
I’ve just found what really looks like a bay Bolete but the stem is very short and doesn’t have the brown. It’s almost white and has the remainder of a brown skirt? The inside flesh doesn’t turn blur whatsoever and both flesh and spoors are a strong yellow. 🤔
It doesn’t sound like a Bay Bolete but I would need to see photos to try and ID it.
Just picked what I think is Bay Bolete, I’ve removed the gills (spongey type stuff) and sliced it. The flesh has gone blue. My neighbour said it was edible but with it blueing I’m not sure. Help
The Bay Boletes flesh does stain blue but without seeing the mushroom, I can’t say that’s what it is. We give advice to avoid Boletes that are red on the outside and have blue flesh on exposure to the air for novice foragers as this will keep them 100% safe and hopefully give them the confidence to go further with mushroom foraging. There are a number of tasty Boletes that break these rules but with careful identification, they are a good family to learn.
You may want to change the season end to December as there is still quite few of them in Thetford forest today.