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Root boletus is a rather rare inedible mushroom that is found in southern climates and in the middle zone throughout the world. Although it does not cause serious harm to health, it is not recommended to confuse it with healthy varieties and eat it.
What do root boletus look like?
The appearance of the rooting boletus is quite typical for Boletaceae.The species, which is also called bitter sponge boletus or stocky boletus, has a large cap up to 20 cm in diameter; at an early age the cap has a convex hemispherical shape, then it flattens a little, but still remains cushion-shaped. Young rooting boletes have slightly rolled edges, while adults have straightened and wavy edges. The cap is covered with dry, smooth skin of gray, greenish or light fawn color, turning blue when pressed.
The lower surface of the cap of the fruiting bodies is tubular, with small rounded pores. At the point where the stem is attached to the cap, the tubular layer is slightly depressed; the color of the tubes is lemon-yellow in young fruiting bodies and with an olive tint in adults. When pressed, the tubular lower surface quickly turns blue.
The fruiting body rises on a stalk to an average height of 8 cm, the diameter of the stalk reaches 3-5 cm. The shape of young fruiting bodies is tuberous and thick, with age it becomes cylindrical with a preserved thickening in the lower part. The color of the leg is lemon-yellow on top, and closer to the base it is covered with olive-brown or greenish-bluish spots. In the upper part, an uneven mesh is noticeable on its surface. If you break a leg, it will turn blue when broken.
The flesh of the cap of the rooting boletus is dense and whitish in color, bluish closer to the tubular layer. When cut, it turns blue when exposed to air, has a pleasant smell, but a bitter taste.
Where do root boletus grow?
The rooting bolet prefers mainly warm regions. It is found in North America and Europe, North Africa, grows in deciduous and mixed forests, and especially often forms a symbiosis with birch and oak trees.Despite its wide distribution area, it is rarely found. The period of most active fruiting occurs at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, although you can see the bitter sponge bolete from July until the frosts.
False counterparts of the root boletus
The stocky boletus mushrooms in the forest can be confused with several varieties of mushrooms, edible and inedible. It’s worth knowing the differences between them so that you don’t accidentally pass by an edible mushroom, mistaking it for a bitter spongy boletus.
Satanic mushroom
The varieties are very similar in size and structure; they are united by a hemispherical convex cap, a dense stem and a predominantly light shade of the cap. But at the same time, the satanic mushroom on the lower part of the stem has a reddish mesh pattern, which the rooting bolet does not have, and the shade of its tubular layer is also reddish.
Gall mushroom
The species also has a certain similarity with the widespread gall fungus, the most famous false twin of the edible Boletaceae. The so-called bitterling has a stem and cap that are very similar in shape and structure, but its color is much darker than the rooting boletus. In addition, the stem of the bitterling is covered with a clearly visible “vascular” network, which is absent in the rooting boletus.
Inedible boletus
The boletus with its expressive name has an external resemblance to the root boletus. Both varieties have stems similar in shape and size, convex hemispherical caps with slightly curled edges and smooth skin.
The inedible boleth is distinguished mainly by the color of its cap - light brown, gray-brown or dark olive. The stocky boletus usually has a lighter cap. In addition, the leg of the inedible boletus is brighter in color: in the upper part it is lemon, in the middle it is red, and in the lower part it is deep burgundy.
This mushroom, like the root boletus, is unsuitable for food consumption. Its flesh tastes too bitter, and this feature does not disappear when boiled.
Semi-white mushroom
One of the edible false counterparts of the root boleth is a semi-white mushroom that grows in clayey, moist soils in the southern regions of Russia. The semi-white mushroom is similar to the rooting boletus mushroom in the hemispherical shape of the cap and the outline of the stem.
But at the same time, the color of the semi-white mushroom is darker - light brown or dark gray. Its stem is straw-yellow at the top and reddish at the bottom; the flesh of the semi-white mushroom does not change its color when broken. Another characteristic feature of the edible species is the distinct smell of carbolic acid emanating from the fresh pulp.
Maiden boletus
An edible species with a pleasant taste, reminiscent of a bitter sponge boletus, is the maiden boletus, which grows in deciduous forests, but is quite rare. The varieties are similar to each other in the shape of the cap; in young specimens it is convex, in adults it is cushion-shaped. Also, boletes are almost the same size.
But at the same time, the maiden boletus has not a cylindrical, but a conical leg; in the lower part it slightly narrows and becomes pointed.Its cap is chestnut-brown or light brown, darker, and the leg also acquires a dark shade in the upper part.
Maiden boletuses are almost as rare as root boletuses, but unlike them, they have an excellent taste and decorate any dish.
Is it possible to eat root boletuses?
Chunky boletus belongs to the category of inedible mushrooms. It does not contain toxic substances, and consumption cannot lead to serious poisoning. However, the pulp of such a fruiting body is too bitter. It is simply pointless to soak an inedible find in salt water or boil it, because the bitter taste does not go away.
If you accidentally add bitter spongy bolet to any dish, all other products will be hopelessly spoiled by the bitter taste of the mushroom pulp. If you have increased sensitivity of the stomach or if you have an allergy, consuming bitter bolet can cause indigestion, diarrhea or vomiting - the substances in its pulp will have an irritating effect on the mucous membranes. However, an upset stomach will not cause any consequences, and no toxic substances will remain in the body.
Conclusion
The root boletus is a mushroom unsuitable for food use, which has similar features to many edible and inedible representatives of the Boletaceae.It is useful to study the characteristics of bolet in order not to add it to a culinary dish by mistake and not to mistake the tasty and healthy fruiting bodies of other species for inedible bolet.
