COMMON NAME: Dark-stalked Bolete.

CAP: (6-16 cm) wide, convex, becoming broadly convex; surface dry to slightly sticky, with tiny fibers that break up to form downy patches or small scales in age, dull orange to tan or brownish; margin rimmed with thin flaps of tissue, at least when young; flesh white, staining pinkish, then purple-gray to blackish when cut and rubbed, especially at the juncture of the cap and stalk; staining bluish gray in FeSO₄ and bluish in NH₄OH; odor and taste not distinctive.

PORE SURFACE: whitish to buff or pale gray when young, becoming dingier in age, not blueing when bruised but sometimes staining olive or brownish; pores circular, 2-3 per mm.

STALK: (8-15.5 cm) long, (1-2.5 cm) thick, nearly equal or enlarging downward, solid, surface covered with a dense layer of scabers that are coal-black when young and at maturity, whitish to dingy tan beneath the scabers, not reticulate, with blue or blue-green stains occasionally on the lower portion; flesh white, staining pinkish, then purple-gray to black when cut and rubbed; partial veil and ring absent.

SPORE PRINT: brown.

MICROSCOPIC FEATURES: spores 13-17 x 4-5 μm, subfusiform, smooth, pale brown.

FRUITING: solitary to scattered on the ground in hardwood forests, usually under birch; July-September; occasional.

EDIBILITY: edible.

COMMENTS: Leccinum testaceoscabrum (edible) is nearly identical and is distinguished by having a brighter orange and somewhat less scaly cap surface, a paler pore surface when young, and flesh that stains bright green with FeSO₄.

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