Boletus zelleri Murrill
Mycologia 4: 217. 1912.

Common Name: none

Synonyms: Ceriomyces zelleri Murrill; Xerocomus zelleri (Murrill) Snell

• Pileus

  Cap 4-11 cm broad, convex, nearly plane at maturity; brown to blackish-brown, velvety, smooth to uneven, with a whitish bloom when young, occasionally aereolate in age; flesh pallid to yellowish, sometimes bruising blue.

• Hymenophore

  Pores small, pallid, becoming yellowish-green, often (but not always) bruising blue.

• Stipe

  Stipe 5-10 cm long, 1-3 cm thick, more or less equal, dry, reddish over a yellow ground color, usually yellow at the base.

• Spores

  Spores 11-15 x 4-6 µm, smooth, fusiform (spindle-shaped). Spore print olive-brown.

• Habitat

  Solitary or in small groups from early fall to mid-winter under conifers, particularly Douglas Fir and Coast Redwood.

• Edibility

  Edible and good, but often infected with fly larvae..

• Comments

  This handsome bolete is most easily recognized by examining young material which has a blackish-brown velvety cap, yellowish pores that usually bruise blue, and a reddish stipe. Boletus chrysenteron is similar but the cap is not as dark and tends to crack at maturity.

• References

  Bessette, A.E., Roody, W.C. & Bessette, A.R. (2000). North American Boletes: A Color Guide to the Fleshy Pored Mushrooms. Syracuse University Press: Syracuse, NY. 400 p.
  Ladurner, H. & Simonini, G. (2003). Xerocomus s.l. Edizioni Candusso: Alassio. 527 p.
  Murrill, W.A. (1912). Polyporaceae and Boletaceae of the Pacific Coast. Mycologia 4(2): 91-100. (Protologue)
  Smith, A.H. (1949). Mushrooms in their Natural Habitats. Sawyer's Inc: Portland, OR. 626—p.
  Snell, W.H., Singer, R. & Dick, E.A. (1959). Notes on Boletes. XI. Mycologia 51(4): 564-577.
  Thiers, H.D. (1975). California Mushrooms—A Field Guide to the Boletes. Hafner Press: New York, NY. 261 p. (WWW)

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Boletus zelleri (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Boletus zelleri (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Boletus zelleri (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Boletus zelleri (CP) -- older sporocarps, middle specimen infected with Hypomyces chrysospermum
  • Michael Wood: Boletus zelleri (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Boletus zelleri (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Boletus zelleri (CP)
  • Boletes of California: Boletus zelleri (D & CP)
  • Beverly Hackett: Boletus zelleri (I)
  • Beverly Hackett: Boletus zelleri (I)
  • Boleslaw Kuznik -- Hunting for Mushrooms: Boletus zelleri (CP)
  • Spotlight on Fungi: Boletus zelleri (D & CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Boletus zelleri (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 518 (D), plate 128 (CP
  • Arora (1991): p. 165 (D & CP)
  • Bessette et al. (2000): p. 171 (D), p. 317 (CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 573 (D), plate 414 (CP)
  • McKenny et al.: p. 11 (D), p. 10 (CP)
  • Miller: sp. 317 (D & CP)
  • Phillips: p. 218 (D), p. 219 (CP)
  • Smith: sp. 85 (D & CP)
  • Thiers (1975): p. 97 (D)
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)