Bay BoleteImleria badia

The cap is chestnut to bay brown, usually dry or slightly velvety. The pores are pale when young and bruise blue-green when pressed. The stem is fairly even and lacks the raised net-like pattern seen on Penny Bun.

Mostly in coniferous woodland, especially with pine and spruce, often among moss and leaf litter. Widespread across Europe.

From summer into autumn, often fruiting well after periods of sustained rain and continuing into relatively cool weather.

If the description above leaves you unsure, do not guess from memory and do not compare by eye with a picture off the internet. Our photo identifier shows several likely candidates with percentages, and names the dangerous lookalikes if there are any — rather than one confident answer.

Fruits from early July to mid November.

This species may not be picked (see «Caution» below), so storing and cooking do not belong here. If you find one: photograph it where it stands, do not cut or dig it up, and remember the spot for your own records — the mycelium fruits there year after year.

Edible when correctly identified and cooked. The pores and flesh may turn blue when bruised or cut; this is normal. Bay Bolete can accumulate radiocaesium more readily than some other boletes. In areas where local authorities issue advice about radioactive contamination, follow that advice and consider choosing other species. Avoid polluted ground such as roadsides and former industrial sites.

Nothing on this page is an expert opinion, and nothing here confirms that the mushroom you found is edible. Photo identification in this service is a probabilistic hint, not permission to pick or to eat.