Brown birch bolete or Red-capped scaber stalk

Cap 5–15 cm across, at first spherical or hemispherical, later cushion-shaped. The surface is smooth or slightly wrinkled, dry or a little sticky in wet weather. Color ranges from grayish brown to dark brown, more rarely almost black.

Cap 6–20 cm across, spherical in young mushrooms, then cushion-shaped. The surface is finely felted or slightly leathery, dry. The color is vivid — brick-red, orange or ginger; in shady spots it may be duller.

The hymenophore is tubular. The tubes and pores are white, small in young mushrooms and wider in mature ones. When pressed, the pores turn slightly brownish, but there's never any bluing: unlike in the red-capped scaber stalks, the flesh doesn't blue even at the stem base.

The hymenophore has tubes. Pores small, round, white at first, then turning brownish. When pressed, the pores turn brownish — this is a normal reaction and does not indicate danger.

Stem 8–18 cm tall, 1.5–3 cm thick, cylindrical, fairly long and slender compared with the cap. The surface is white or grayish, densely covered with dark, fibrous scales — the hallmark of the genus Leccinum. The stem is firm and fibrous.

Stem 8–20 cm tall, 2–4 cm thick, firm, club-shaped at the bottom, cylindrical in the upper part. The surface is white, covered with scales and fibres: reddish, sometimes whitish, in young mushrooms, turning red-brown to blackish with age. The stem base often shows a blue tint, especially where it has been handled. The stem is very hard, almost woody in mature mushrooms.

The flesh is firm and white; when cut it doesn't change colour or turns slightly pinkish, and after a few hours may become a little greyish or brownish. It darkens to grey-black only when cooked. The taste is mild and neutral. The cap skin doesn't peel.

Flesh firm, white; when cut it darkens to violet-grey, grey and eventually almost black; only the stem base often turns blue-green. The darkening also happens during cooking. The taste is pleasant, meaty. In mature mushrooms the stem is very fibrous.

The smell is unobtrusive, pleasant and typically mushroomy. The aroma intensifies with cooking. When dried, the brown birch bolete takes on a rich scent that falls short of porcini but is noticeably better than most other pored mushrooms.

Smell faint, pleasant, mushroomy, slightly earthy. When fried, the aroma becomes richer and more appetizing. Compared with porcini, the red-capped scaber stalk's smell is less pronounced, but quite pleasant.