Sepia Bolete (Xerocomellus Porosporus) Identification -

Sepia Bolete / Summer / Autumn / Edible

Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Björn S., CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Lukas from London, England, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Björn S…, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Scientific Name

Xerocomellus Porosporus

Common Names

Sepia Bolete

Family

Boletales

Habitat

Most often associated with Oak but can be found growing with any deciduous tree.

Description

An uncommon and quite rare mushroom to find in the UK, they are more common in mainland Europe.

Identifying Features:

Cap:

Convex when young, they flattening out as they mature, the caps are olive/brown in colour and covered in a ‘crazy paving’ type pattern of shallow cracks.

Björn S…, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Stem:

The stem overall is light brown in colour, but tends to be more yellow towards the cap with a red band or ring.

Lukas from London, England, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Gills:

Pores rather than gills, they are yellow when young but darken with age and will bruise blue when damaged.

Björn S., CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Smell:

Mushroomy.

Spores:

Orange/Brown.

Uses

In food

They are technically edible but they don’t have the greatest texture or taste and as they are quite rare, so they are probably best left alone.

Known hazards

None known.

Potential lookalikes

Other Bolete’s, especially the Red Cracked Bolete (Xerocomellus Chrysenteron), but the red cracked bolete have a completely red stem and tend to show their red flesh through the cracks on the cap.