Species details
Pine bolete
Boletus pinophilus
Traditionally edible
Photo: LitvinovSS · CC BY 3.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A stout bolete with a reddish- to chestnut-brown cap, often associated with pine and spruce.
Identification features
Young pores are white, later yellow-olive; the pale stem is reticulate and the flesh usually does not blue.
Identification checklist
Check the entire fruitbody for identification. A stout bolete with a reddish- to chestnut-brown cap, often associated with pine and spruce. Young pores are white, later yellow-olive; the pale stem is reticulate and the flesh usually does not blue. Typical habitat: Coniferous and mixed woodland, especially with pine and spruce.
Detailed features
- Cap
- 8–20 cm, hemispherical to cushion-shaped, reddish- to chestnut-brown, often finely wrinkled; young caps can be very dark.
- Hymenophore
- Tubes are initially white, then yellow and finally olive-green; pores stay pale while the fruitbody is young.
- Stem
- 5–10 × 5–8 cm, stout to cylindrical, brownish and usually reticulate, especially toward the top.
- Flesh
- White, very firm and juicy; it normally does not blue when cut.
- Smell
- Pleasant, mushroom-like.
- Spore print
- Olive-brown.
Size
- Cap diameter
- 8–20 cm
- Stem height
- 5–10 cm
- Stem diameter
- 5–8 cm
Habitat
Coniferous and mixed woodland, especially with pine and spruce.
Fruiting period
June, July, August, September, October
Ecology
- Trophic mode
- Mycorrhizal
- Host trees
- Pine (Pinus), Beech (Fagus)
- Substrate
- Forest soil
- Notes
- A mycorrhizal species, often with pines but also occurring with beech and in mixed woodland.
How to separate similar species
Compare especially with these similar species: Boletus edulis, Boletus aereus, Tylopilus felleus. Check the combination of cap shape and colour, spore-bearing surface, stem, flesh changes and habitat. A single feature or photograph is not enough; if the key characters do not match the description, do not treat the identification as confirmed.
Similar species
- Penny bun (Boletus edulis)
The cep is usually more evenly brown and often lacks the pronounced reddish-brown cap tones.
- Bitter bolete (Tylopilus felleus)
Bitter bolete develops pink pores and a darker coarse reticulum; it is intensely bitter.
Interesting facts
Did you know? The species is closely related to the cep; the name pinophilus points to its frequent association with pines.