Season for the Flake-stemmed Witchbole starts early. However, it can easily be confused with other boletes, some of which are poisonous. You should therefore pay attention to clear characteristics in order to avoid any risk of confusion with the flake-stemmed bolete.

In a nutshell

  • There is a risk of confusion with other boletus
  • most boletes are non-toxic but often inedible
  • Exceptions are Satan's and Fairfoot Boletus
  • the most striking differences are usually seen in the cap, stem and colouring

Unmistakable features

In most cases, fungi can only be unequivocally identified on the basis of clear characteristics. This is no different with the shoemaker's mushroom. It is one of the best edible mushrooms, even if its appearance suggests otherwise. However, only when cooked.

  • Cap velvety, mostly dark brown, rarely olive-colored parts
  • hemispherical, flattened, 4-20 cm across
  • particularly striking coloring of the fruit bodies
  • Pores (underside of hat) dark red, bluing intensely when pressed
  • Flesh firm, yolk yellow, bluish black when injured
  • after a while turning yellowish again
  • Tube bottom yellow, tubes yellow-green when sectioned, olive tint
  • bulbous stem 2-6 cm thick
  • brownish-yellow, finely flocked with red, no net pattern
  • Flocking decreases towards the top
  • mushroom-like smell, mild taste when cooked
  • Toxicity in the raw state
Source: H. Krisp, Flake-stemmed witch bolete, edited from Plantopedia, CC BY 3.0

Tip: If you blanch the flake-stemmed bolete before cooking, it is particularly tasty.

Likelihood of confusion - Edible doubles

Dupain's Boletus (Boletus dupainii)

Source: This image was created by user Alan Rockefeller (Alan Rockefeller) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.
You can contact this user here. German | espanol | french | italiano | macedonian | മലയാളം | portugues | +/−, 2012-09-05 Boletus dupainii Boud 312265, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Cap 4-12 cm, cherry to blood red, convex, slightly greasy
  • skin does not turn blue
  • Flesh firm, yellow, red under cuticle
  • strongly bluish in section
  • Stem yellow, crimson from center to base, flaky, no web
  • Stem tip yellowish, finely flaky
  • Tubes bulging adnate, orange-red, red, bluing when pressed
  • yellow tube bottom
  • Odor neutral, taste mild, slightly sweet

Short-netted witch bolete (Suillellus mendax)

Source: Xth-Floor, Vrbenské rybníky - Boletus mendax 02, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Cap 3-15 cm, dark brown, olive brown, gray brown, burgundy, velvety, sticky
  • reddish tones predominate
  • Red coloring also between cap flesh and tubes
  • Flesh yellow, turning black-blue
  • Stem meat, strongly colored wine-red, reddish base
  • reddish, reddish-brown, dark-brown netting on the stem
  • in young mushrooms only in the upper stem area
  • later in the middle to lower range
  • Tube base orange-red, easily detachable
  • fungal odor, mild taste

Black-blue boletus (Cyanoboletus pulverulentus)

Source: This image was created by user walt sturgeon (Mycowalt) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.
You can contact this user here. German | espanol | french | italiano | macedonian | മലയാളം | portugues | +/−, 2013-07-13 Boletus pulverulentus Opat 348966, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Cap 3-12 cm wide, chestnut to reddish brown, rarely grey-brown
  • Cuticle finely felted, greasy when wet
  • Tubes bright yellow, turning intense blue when touched
  • Stem yellow above, darker towards the base (reddish brown)
  • Flesh bright yellow, very quickly black-blue when injured
  • Coloration fades after 30-60 minutes
  • Odor neutral, taste mild, metallic

Tip: Even though this mushroom is considered an edible mushroom, it is said to contain large amounts of carcinogenic arsenic.

Restricted edible

Blue-spotted purple boletus (Boletus rhodopurpureus)

Source: This image was created by user (Gerhard Koller) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.
You can contact this user here. German | espanol | french | italiano | macedonian | മലയാളം | portugues | +/−, 2008-08-04 Boletus rhodopurpureus 1 18733, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Cap 6-12 cm, crimson, cushion-like, dull, dry
  • yellowish or pink background, surface bluing
  • often spotted pink, primrose yellow or variegated blue granular
  • Flesh light blue, later chrome yellow, old spongy
  • bluing quickly
  • yellowish stalk with reddish net
  • Apex yellow, base increasingly red
  • bluing heavily when pressed
  • tube bottom yellow, attached
  • only edible when cooked, very poisonous when raw

Yellow-footed bolete (Neoboletus xanthopus)

Source: This image was created by user Davide Puddu (Davide Puddu) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.
You can contact this user here. German | espanol | french | italiano | macedonian | മലയാളം | portugues | +/−, 2016-09-30 Neoboletus xanthopus (Klofac & A.Urb.) Klofac & A.Urb 674817, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • much rarer than Flake-stemmed Witch Bolete
  • Cap 4-20 cm, beige to dark brown
  • more yellow shades than cobbler's mushroom
  • finer flocking on the stem
  • Flesh yellow, bluing immediately
  • Tube bottom yellow, notched at stem
  • fungus-like smell, mild taste, incompatible raw

Smooth-stemmed witch bolete (Suillellus queletii)

Source: EmillimeS, Suillellus queletii; 101 0534 edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Cap thick-fleshed, brick-brown with orange tones
  • firm lemon-yellow flesh
  • Stem lemon yellow with a reddish base
  • bulbous, fleshy
  • Tubes lemon to golden yellow
  • with fine, red-orange mouths
  • decolorizing with age
  • Bluing in all parts when cut and printed
  • Toxicity in the raw state

Net-stalked bolete (Suillellus luridus)

  • Cap 3-15 cm, light, dark or grey-brown depending on location
  • Surface velvety, bluing
  • red coloring between tubes and cap flesh
  • Flesh white-yellowish, if injured immediately bluish-black
  • Tubes of various shades of orange-reddish
  • Stem with reddish to brownish netting on a yellowish background
  • Stem base darker and dotted with reddish
  • Bottom of tube orange-red to red, detachable from flesh
  • Toxicity in the raw state
  • Intolerance in sensitive people

Wine red boletus (Boletus rubrosanguineus)

Source: Max Danz, Boletus rubrosanguineus, edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Cap 5-20 cm, light to mouse-grey when young, later pink to crimson, felt-like
  • darker, scabby middle
  • Flesh yolk-yellow, wine-red at the base of the stem
  • faintly bluing, fading after a few hours
  • Tubes yellow to olive, blue when touched
  • Stem initially bulbous, later elongated, almost cylindrical
  • Stalk skin golden to orange yellow
  • covered above by a close-meshed red net
  • raw poisonous and incompatible

Inedible or poisonous

Satan's Boletus (Boletus satanas)

Source: H. Krisp, Satan's boletus Boletus satanas, Edited from Plantopedia, CC BY 3.0
  • light, whitish or greyish, thickly padded cap, 8-25 cm
  • Flesh white to straw yellow, bluing slightly when cut
  • bulbous, relatively short stem, 6-12 cm
  • in the upper part light yellow to reddish net markings
  • lighter toward the base, bulbous, reddish
  • Slightly green-blue staining when pressed
  • Tube bottom yellow, on pressure, similar coloration
  • toxic but not life threatening

Fairfoot boletus (Caloboletus calopus)

  • Hat up to 20 cm tall
  • Surface ocher gray and wavy
  • Hat skin protrudes at the edge of the hat
  • Flesh white when pressed, subtle blue
  • Stalk very thick-footed, firm-fleshed, covered by a clear mesh
  • Bright yellow towards the cap, reddish base of the stem
  • Tubes yellow, blue when pressed
  • weak poison effect, inedible

frequently asked Questions

Are the listed toxic boletus life threatening?

None of them are life threatening. Nevertheless, they can cause severe gastrointestinal problems with violent vomiting. However, they usually taste so unpleasant that you hardly eat large amounts of them.

Why do many of these boletes turn blue?

The blue color is a natural reaction. If pressure or injury occurs, a harmless chemical reaction takes place, resulting in a blue discoloration. Responsible is the contained so-called pulvic acid.

Is the cobbler's mushroom suitable for drying?

Like almost all boletes, the flake-stemmed witch bolete is very suitable for drying.

Category:

Vegetable garden