Velvet Bolete

Description

The velvet bolete is a pored mushroom with a cap 5–14 cm across, at first yellowish or olive and downy, later ochre-brown to orange. The pores under the cap are dark olive and turn blue when pressed. The stem is cylindrical, yellow-brownish and without a ring. The flesh is firm, yellowish and may turn slightly blue when cut.

It grows in coniferous forests, mainly under pines, on heathland and in damp places, from summer to autumn. It is common in Poland.

Similar are the bovine bolete, which has wider, compound pores, and the peppery bolete, which is smaller and sharp-tasting. If you are not sure of the species, do not pick it and do not eat it.

Identification features

Cap

Diameter 5–14 cm (descriptions give different ranges). Young ones hemispherical with an inrolled margin, then cushion-shaped with a sharp margin. Colour yellow, yellow-grey, olive to dirty orange, later ochre-brown to pale orange (according to some descriptions rusty to tawny). Cuticle felty and downy when young, smoother with age, and sticky when wet; separates from the flesh with difficulty.

Hymenophore (underside of the cap)

Tubes fairly short, yellow or pale orange when young, later dark olive; when pressed they first turn blue, then brown. Pores roundish, of similar colour to the tubes (according to some descriptions ochre, then cinnamon). The pores are smaller, dark olive and not running down the stem, unlike in the bovine bolete.

Stem

Height 4–10 cm, thickness 2–4 cm; cylindrical, smooth, thickened at the base. Colour yellow or yellow-brownish with a slight reddish tinge, yellower towards the top. No ring.

Flesh

Firm, pale yellow or pale orange, lemon-yellow under the surface of the stem. Turns slightly blue in places when cut. Taste insignificant (according to some descriptions slightly metallic), smell distinctive: according to some descriptions it resembles conifer needles, according to others it is unpleasant, like an earthball (Scleroderma).

Spore print and spores

Spore print olive-brown or nut-brown (descriptions give different colours). Spores smooth, spindle-shaped, 7.5–12 × 3–5 µm.

Habitat and distribution

Ecology. Mycorrhizal fungus, associated with pines (according to some descriptions two-needled), often among heather and other acid-loving plants on sandy soils. Grows in coniferous forests, on heathland and in damp places.

Distribution. Widespread in Europe, North America, also in South America and Japan. Common in Poland. Not legally protected in Poland.

Fruiting. From summer to autumn (according to some descriptions: late summer).

What can it be confused with?

• Suillus bovinus (bovine bolete) — Has larger pores (in the bovine bolete compound, wide, running down the stem) and no characteristic smell; the velvet bolete has a downy cap and smaller, dark olive pores.
• Chalciporus piperatus (peppery bolete) — Much smaller, with a sharp, peppery taste.
• Boletinus cavipes (hollow bolete) — More often in the mountains; has a hollow stem, a vanishing ring and dense fibres.
• Suillus tridentinus — Caution: similar protected species (strict protection in Poland), not included in the Atlas. Cap orange to rusty with darker fibrils, pores orange; under larch, mainly on calcareous soils in the mountains. Do not pick.
• Suillus sibiricus — Caution: similar protected species (partial protection in Poland), not included in the Atlas. Cap yellow with brownish spots, stem with brown dots; grows only under Swiss stone pine (in Poland in the Tatra Mountains). Do not pick.
• Suillus flavidus — Caution: similar protected species (partial protection in Poland), not included in the Atlas. Small, pale yellow, slimy, with a gelatinous ring; in bogs under pine, among sphagnum. Do not pick.

Never rely on a single feature. If you are not sure — do not pick it; show the mushroom to a qualified mushroom expert.

Interesting facts

• The orange pigment variegatic acid was first isolated from this species; after oxidation in air it gives the flesh a blue colour.
• The first description is by Olof Swartz from 1810 (as Boletus variegatus).
• According to Swedish studies, the velvet bolete can inhibit the growth of the bovine bolete.