CAP: (3-6 cm) wide, convex, becoming broadly convex; surface dry, not sticky or slimy, blackish brown and velvety when young, becoming chocolate-brown to chestnut-brown and often finely cracked in age; cracks when present white to pale yellow without red tints; flesh pale yellow, staining blue when cut or bruised; odor and taste not distinctive.

PORE SURFACE: pale yellow, becoming yellow or greenish yellow, staining blue when cut or bruised; pores angular, 1 mm wide.

STALK: (2-4 cm) long, (6-12 mm) thick, equal or enlarging slightly downward, solid, reddish brown to blackish brown, often yellowish at the apex, not reticulate but often decorated with tiny hairs, points, or scales that may form a reticulate pattern; staining blue, then slowly reddish when bruised or handled; partial veil and ring absent.

SPORE PRINT: olive-brown to dark brown.

MICROSCOPIC FEATURES: spores 10-16 x 5-8 μm, narrowly ovate to nearly oblong, longitudinally striate, yellowish to brownish.

FRUITING: solitary or in groups, on decaying wood, often at the bases of trees, sometimes on the ground; June-September; fairly common.

EDIBILITY: edible.

From Mushrooms of Northeastern North America Alan E. Bessette, Arleen R. Bessette, & David W. Fischer  Copright © 1997 Syracuse University, ISBN 0-8156-0388-6