Matt bolete or Sepia bolete

The cap of the matt bolete reaches 3 to 8 centimeters across. When young it is hemispherical, becoming convex and cushion-shaped with age. The surface is dry, velvety and finely fibrous, and in young mushrooms covered with a characteristic grayish waxy bloom, as if dusted with frost. The color is dark — chestnut-brown, reddish-brown or dark chocolate; with age the bloom disappears, and small cracks may appear on the surface, through which pinkish flesh shows.

Cap up to 8 cm, flat-convex in young mushrooms; in mature ones often with distinctive radial and crosswise cracks on the surface (like the red cracking bolete). The color varies: beige, dull brown, olive, sometimes with a pinkish tint in the cracks. Surface matte, finely fibrous.

The hymenophore is made of tubes. The tubes are fairly long, with relatively wide angular pores, lemon-yellow or golden-yellow, turning olive-yellow with age. When pressed or damaged the pores turn blue, taking on a blue-green tint. The hymenophore separates easily from the cap flesh. Spore print olive-brown.

The pore surface is tubular, with a small notch near the stem. Lemon yellow, olive brown in mature ones. Pores small, angular, 0.2–0.5 mm. They quickly turn blue when pressed.

The stem is cylindrical, 4 to 8 centimeters tall, fairly slender and often narrowing toward the base. It is yellowish at the top and reddish-pink or brownish-red lower down, with a fine reddish fibrous pattern. When pressed, the surface may turn blue or brown. There is no volva and no ring. The reddish tones of the stem together with the dark bloomy cap set this species apart.

Stem 3–8 cm tall, 0.5–1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, fragile. Olive yellow at the top, with reddish or orange spots or zones lower down. Darkens to brown at the base.

The flesh is pale yellow or lemon, often pinkish under the cap skin and yellowish-red in the stem. When cut and exposed to air it turns noticeably, though not very strongly, blue, taking on a blue-greenish tint, and then fades. The taste is mild and pleasant, without bitterness. Because the flesh tends to go soft, pick young, firm mushrooms for the table.

The flesh is pale lemon yellow in the cap and chrome yellow in the upper stem. It turns blue when cut, especially in the tubes and the stem — this is a normal reaction. The texture is watery, cottony in mature ones.

The smell is faint, pleasant and typically mushroomy, with no sharp notes. Aroma isn't a defining feature, so for identification rely on the dark velvety bloomy cap, the yellow pores that turn blue, the reddish stem and the association with beech or oak.

The smell is faint, mushroomy, with no distinct notes. The taste is mild, neutral and watery.