Suede bolete, the classic Xerocomus of the woods

Of all the moss boletes, the suede bolete (Xerocomus subtomentosus) is the best known. It's what most people picture when they hear “moss bolete”: a velvety yellow-brown mushroom somewhere in a mossy clearing or on a forest edge.

It's a common, reliable and tasty mushroom that people rarely get wrong. Let's look at what it looks like, where and when to find it, why it's good in the kitchen and why it's often called “yellow” too.

What the suede bolete looks like

It's a classic moss bolete with a few easy-to-spot features.

• Cap 4–12 cm, olive-green, yellow-brown or grayish brown, dry and velvety to the touch.
• Tube layer with large pores, golden yellow or greenish yellow.
• Stem even, thinner than the cap, yellowish brown, with no net pattern.
• Flesh yellowish or whitish; when cut, it turns slightly blue or barely changes at all.

The most reliable sign is a dry, velvety cap combined with large yellow pores. Unlike many of its relatives, the suede bolete turns only slightly blue, or not blue at all.

Why it's called “yellow”

Because of its yellow-brown cap and bright yellow pores, the suede bolete is often called the “yellow moss bolete.” It's the same species, just named for its color.

Its cap really is often more yellow-brown than green, especially in dry, sunny spots. So don't be surprised if the names “green” and “yellow” turn out to mean one and the same mushroom.

The key thing is not to confuse the cap color with the pore color: yellow pores are a normal, typical moss bolete feature, not a reason to worry.

Where and when to look for it

The suede bolete loves moss and bright forests, so it's worth searching for in several types of woodland.

• in mixed forests, where conifers grow alongside broadleaf trees;
• in coniferous forests and pine forests on mossy patches;
• in deciduous forests, on forest edges, in clearings and along paths.

Its season is long, from June to October. It fruits most abundantly in the second half of summer and early autumn, especially a few days after warm rains.

Why it's good on the table

The suede bolete is a good edible mushroom and one of the best of the moss boletes. When young, it's firm and fragrant.

It's fried with potatoes, added to soups, pickled and dried. Because it turns blue less than its relatives, dishes made with it come out lighter and neater-looking.

Like all moss boletes, it's best picked young for the table. Older specimens with spongy, watery flesh are better left in the forest. Compared with the similar red cracking bolete, the suede bolete has a whole, uncracked cap, and compared with Xerocomus ferrugineus, a lighter color, but all of them are edible.

The only unpleasant lookalike is the fiery peppery bolete, which stands out with its reddish pores and hot taste. To know when to head out for moss boletes, check our mushroom radar: it shows when moisture and warmth line up well for mushrooms to appear.

Sources

• “Field Guide to the Fungi of Ukraine” (Kyiv, Naukova Dumka Publishing).
• Xerocomus subtomentosus on GBIF, a global biodiversity database.
• Xerocomus on MycoBank, an international fungal nomenclature database.
• Xerocomus subtomentosus on Wikipedia.