Rooting bolete - Caloboletus radicans

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Poisonous mushroom - novice Season - summer to autumn ​ Common names Rooting bolete, whitish bolete

Scientific name meaning: Boletus originates from the Greek bolos, meaning a lump, while calo means pretty. Radicans is a Latin word meaning striking root, in reference to the root-like mycelial threads this mushroom often has

Habitat

A mycorrhizal fungus growing underneath oak, beech, hornbeam, lime and sometimes rock rose.

Overall structure and growth

A very large, lumpy and misshapen mushroom. It can appear as individual specimens but is often found in large numbers.

Cap

A pale grey-buff colour, the cap reaches between 5 and 20cm. It has lumpy appearance with a misshapen edge and often cracks from the centre as it ages.

Pores, tubes and spores

The pore surface and tubes are pale yellow bruising blue quickly when damaged.

Stem

The yellow stem can be straight or swollen and between 7 and 14cm tall, and 3 and 5cm wide. There is a fine reticulum (net-like pattern) over the stem surface and sometimes the base is slightly red in colour. It often tapers at base and has root-like mycelial strands. It has no ring, or skirt.

​Flesh, smell and taste

The flesh is very pale yellow, almost white, turning blue quickly when damaged. The smell is pleasant but the taste is extremely bitter.

​Possible lookalikes

Could be confused with the poisonous Satan's bolete (Rubroboletus satanus) but this has orange or red pores and a white cap, edible lurid bolete (Suillelus luridus), which has orange stem base flesh; bitter beech bolete (Caloboletus calopus) which has a red stem base, or iodine bolete (Hemileccinum impolitus), pictured, which does not turn blue and smells of iodine in the stem base.

Poisonous parts All parts of this mushroom are poisonous and should not be confused ​ Hazards None known

Use in herbal medicine and medicine Has shown some effectiveness against MRSA in lab conditions

If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner ​ Other uses None known ​ Importance to other species Slugs and snails often eat these mushrooms. It is also a food source for the red squirrel

Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!

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