COMMON NAME: Black Velvet Bolete.

CAP: (3-15 cm) wide, convex, becoming broadly convex or flat; surface dry, finely velvety, occasionally finely cracked in age, black to dark grayish brown, often covered with a thin whitish bloom when young; margin extending slightly beyond the pore surface; flesh white or tinged gray, staining pinkish to reddish gray when cut or bruised, eventually blackening; odor and taste not distinctive.

PORE SURFACE: white or with a tinge of gray when young, becoming dull pinkish or flesh-colored in age, not dark gray or black, usually staining reddish, then slowly black when bruised; pores angular to irregular, about 2 per mm.

STALK: (4-10 cm) long, (1.5-4 cm) thick, equal or enlarging downward, solid, colored like the cap or paler, especially near the apex, often covered with a thin, whitish bloom, not reticulate or only slightly so at the apex; partial veil and ring absent.

SPORE PRINT: pinkish to deep flesh color.

MICROSCOPIC FEATURES: spores 7-11 x 3.5-5 μm, narrowly oval, smooth, hyaline.

FRUITING: solitary to scattered on the ground under hardwoods, especially oak; June-September; occasional.

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