Slate Bolete (Leccinum duriusculum)

Leccinum duriusculum

Deciduous forests, under aspens and poplars. Summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies large. Cap 5-12 (15) cm across, matt, fibrous, greyish-brown, dirty greyish, yellowish-brown, blackish-brown, sometimes uneven, cracked. Tubes greyish, eventually greyish-cream, up to 3 cm long. Pores greenish-brownish. Stem 5-15x1-3.5 cm, firm, white, longitudinally blackish-fibrous, rough, spotted green at the base. Flesh white, turning reddish when cut, later becoming violet-pinkish, bluish-green at the base of the stem. Characteristic features: fruiting bodies firm, the surface of the cap and especially of the stem rough.

Grows singly or in small groups in deciduous forests, likes lighter habitats. Edible, rare.