Boletus betulicola or Bitter bolete

The cap is large, 7–25 cm across, hemispherical and cushion-shaped in young mushrooms, opening with age to convex-flattened. The color is light — from almost white and cream in young ones to light chestnut, hazel or the color of freshly baked bread in mature ones; noticeably paler than the pine bolete or summer bolete. The surface is dry and matte, faintly velvety to the touch when young, slightly shiny in wet weather. The margin is even, and the skin does not peel.

The cap of the bitter bolete reaches 4 to 15 centimeters across, and in especially good years you'll find real giants up to 20 centimeters. When young it is neatly hemispherical, opening with maturity to convex and later almost flat and spread out. The cap surface is dry, delicately velvety or finely felty to the touch in young mushrooms, but becomes smooth with age. The color palette ranges from light hazel and coffee brown to a warm ochre-brown, which especially heightens the deceptive resemblance to porcini.

The hymenophore is tubular, free or slightly notched at the stem, and separates easily from the flesh. In young mushrooms the tubes are pure white; as the spores mature they turn yellow and later take on an olive-greenish tint. The pores are small, round, and the same color as the tubes. An important diagnostic feature: when pressed or damaged, the hymenophore does not turn blue or change color — this sets true porcini apart from many bluing boletes.

Under the cap lies a tubular hymenophore, which is the main giveaway of this impostor. In very young mushrooms the tubes and pores are whitish, which, once again, recalls porcini, but very quickly they take on a characteristic dirty pink or flesh-pink hue. It's this pinkness that firmly sets the bitter bolete apart from true porcini, whose hymenophore can be white, yellow or olive, but never pink. When pressed or damaged, the pores often turn brown, developing rusty brown spots.

The stem is massive, 5–20 cm tall and up to 4–6 cm thick, bulbous and swollen when young, lengthening with age to club-shaped or almost cylindrical. The color is whitish, cream or light brown, often paler than the cap. The upper part shows a fine pale net (reticulum) — white veins on an even paler background, not as contrasting as the dark net of the bitter bolete. There is no ring and no volva.

The stem of the bitter bolete is massive and sturdy, 4 to 10 centimeters tall and up to 3 centimeters thick. It is swollen and club-shaped, especially thickened at the base, which makes the mushroom look stocky and dependable. The stem is colored in ochre-brown tones, lighter at the top and darker toward the base. The most important diagnostic detail is the net pattern: unlike porcini's delicate pale netting, the bitter bolete's net is distinct, coarse and dark, chocolate-colored or even blackish, and clearly visible to the naked eye. There is no ring and no volva at all.

The flesh is thick, firm and white, sometimes faintly brownish under the cap skin. When cut, the color does not change — it does not turn blue, red or dark; this is one of the key features of true porcini. The texture is springy and meaty, hard in young mushrooms and slightly softer with age. The taste is mild and pleasant, not bitter, with a delicate nutty note.

The flesh of the bitter bolete is thick, dense and fleshy, white or slightly cream-colored. When cut it mostly stays unchanged, although in some specimens it may turn faintly pink on exposure to air. There's none of the bluing typical of many boletes. But the flesh's main feature lies not in its color but in its taste: it is extraordinarily, unbearably bitter, like bile or quinine. It's this bitterness, which cooking doesn't destroy, that makes the mushroom unfit for the table.

The smell is pleasant and richly mushroomy, with a warm nutty note — the classic porcini aroma. When cut it is fresh and clean, and when dried it grows much stronger, filling the house with that rich mushroom scent people dry porcini for. There are no chemical, sour or unpleasant notes at all.

The smell of the bitter bolete is faint and fairly nondescript, typically mushroomy, with no sharp or unpleasant notes. Unlike the taste, the aroma carries no warning at all and may well seem pleasant. That's exactly why you shouldn't rely on your nose to identify this species — the deceptively mild smell only adds to its overall resemblance to the noble porcini.