Bitter Bolete

Tylopilus felleus

Coniferous forests, most often close to pine trunks. Summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies large. Cap 5-15 cm across, fleshy, matt, not shiny, brown with a yellow or grey tinge. Tubes 1.5–2.5 cm long, white, later pink, pores very fine, turning brown when pressed. Stem 6-12x1-5 cm, thickening towards the base, only near the cap with a net of white elongated meshes, yellowish-brownish. Flesh white, not changing colour, firm, later brownish, bitter. Characteristic features: underside of the cap pink, flesh bitter, very similar to the porcini.

Grows singly and in small groups in spruce and pine forests. Very common. Inedible: after boiling several times it loses its bitterness, but is still not suitable for eating.