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Oak Bolete

(49 votes, average: 3.57 out of 5)

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Oak Bolete

Edible

Autumn

Summer

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The Oak Bolete, Butyriboletus appendiculatus

A great and usually large mushroom, almost as good as the Penny Bun with a firm texture.

Mushroom Type
Common Names	Oak Bolete (EN), Butter Bolete (US), Cap Tyllog Derw (CY), Masłoborowik Żółtobrązowy (PL), Sárgahúsú Tinóru (HU)
Scientific Name	Boletus / Butyriboletus appendiculatus
Synonyms	Boletus appendiculatus
Season Start	Jul
Season End	Oct
Average Mushroom height (CM)	7-10
Average Cap width (CM)	7-10

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Please note that each and every mushroom you come across may vary in appearance to these photos.

Cap

7-10 cm. Rusty to red brown or sometimes lighter, often irregular, sometimes has a ‘cracked’ skin especially near the centre.

Pores

Lemon yellow, tight sponge like pores that darken a bit with age. These will bruise to a blue colour.

Stem

7-10 cm long, 3-4 cm diameter. Straight or clavate, club shaped, lemon yellow at the top with yellow reticulation, (a mesh or net like covering) then usually a change to a pale orange to red towards the base.

Flesh

White to pale yellow. Turning pale blue when cut, the base bruising rusty brown.

Habitat

Mainly around Oak but will grow with other deciduous trees.

Possible Confusion

Other Boletes. Although the Oak Bolete is quite distinctive care should be taken when trying to identify this mushroom as it breaks the simple edible rules for Boletes (if a bolete has red on it anywhere, do not eat it and if it stains blue when cut, again, don’t eat it).

Spore Print

Olivaceous/brown. Subfusiform.

Taste / Smell

Excellent.

Frequency

Uncommon.

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13 responses to “Oak Bolete”

John Way Isle of Wight

September 30, 2018

Believed to have found one last week.
Am in the process of drying it.(sliced)

1. Poppy Ives
  
  November 9, 2018
  
  Please only eat them if you are 100% sure that you have a Butter Bolete.
  
Tom Lake

October 10, 2019

Found 300g wet of these this morning and confirmed they were butter boletes with the above explainer, which in my view is accurate and v.helpful. Cheers!

Tom Lake

October 10, 2019

Ps. After watching the vid i spent a happy 20 minutes spooning out the pores with my car keys (was all i had on my person) and scattering in all directions under and around several old oak trees, as per where i found these 🙂

Tom Lake

October 13, 2019

Update: a wonderful mushroom to eat! Smell is incredibly strong, even for my terrible sense of smell 🙂 I also found a few Bay Bolete at the same location, identified again through this site. Both types went onto home made pizzas, the Butter Boletes into some roasted cauliflower pilaf and my favourite to date, sliced up and sautéed in some butter, drizzle of truffle oil, salt and pepper and a pinch of herb de province and served on toasted brown sourdough with a fried egg.

wilf hughes

August 18, 2021

I am confused by the identification says the flesh can turn BLUE when cut, but then below it warns us not to eat “any if a bolete has red on it anywhere, do not eat it and if it stains blue when cut, again, don’t eat it” The ones I have found have just emerged from the ground with a very shiny sticky covering on the top. I cut one in half but it has not turned blue yet. For now I have no intention of eating them but would like to know what people think for the future if they appear again. thanks

1. Eric Biggane
  
  August 23, 2021
  
  Avoiding Boletes that have red on them and flesh that turns blue is for novice foragers and will make collecting Boletes 100% safe. There are good edible members of this genus that have both red markings and flesh that turns blue but these are for more experienced foragers.
  
Neil

August 19, 2021

First time eating one of these. Flesh is deliciously firm, mushroomy with a hint of clove. A quite distinctive flavour. Sponge goes slimy on cooking and best avoided I would say, would be ok in soup though I imagine as flavour still good.
This is easy to identify and easy to create a delicious meal for two with just one decent specimen.

Cernunnas

September 1, 2021

Some of these grew randomly under an oak tree in my garden. What a nice surprise!

Cosmina

June 23, 2022

Hey, just found a couple of what I think are Butter Bolete but it is only June and we had a very dry period here in Romania. In my research identifying it I came across another specie that looks similar (Boletus subtomentosus) and now I’m not sure. How can I distinguish between them?

1. Eric Biggane
  
  June 23, 2022
  
  There is not much difference between the two. The stem of X. subtomentosus usually widens towards the apex, the B. appendiculatum has a more cylindrical or barrel shaped stem and sometimes a faint horizontal line on the stem with more yellow above and slightly redder below. The flesh of X. subtomentosus can stain faintly blue in the cap area, B. appendiculatum stains more vigorously blue in the stem and cap. Finally, B. appendiculatum smells a bit like rubber with a metallic hint, X. subtomentosus has a more acidic smell. They are only small differences, so good luck.
  
Diarmuid Byron-O’Connor

September 18, 2022

Last week after the rain mushrooms have been popping up everywhere! In W.Sussex I found three oak boletes close to each other 8”,7” and a baby pushing up the soil. What a great start to the season. However the larger one was riddled in both stem and cap with brown veins. Clearly a parasite. I dare not risk eating it. So: A;would it have been safe to eat ? B; how young can the be picked to avoid parasites? ( I did scatter the pore flesh as a thanks offering ).

1. Attila Fodi
  
  September 22, 2022
  
  Hi, Diarmuid,
  If a fruiting body of a bolete (or any other fleshy mushroom) has some red/rusty/brown veins in, that means it has maggots within and they are eating and pooing within the fruit body.
  From this point it is based on your personal opinion about eating it or not. Normally we don’t bother with about 1-5 maggots-caused veins, but there is always a limit how far a forager would go.
  Many people slice and dehydrate this kind of fruit bodies (because the maggots will fall out during the drying process, which is true), but personally I never dehydrate anything that I wouldn’t eat as fresh mushroom.
  I hope that I could help!