Suillus flavidus or Weeping bolete

Cap 3-7 cm across, hemispherical in young mushrooms, becoming convex to flat with age. Color: pale yellow-ocher, straw-yellow, with a faint greenish tint. The skin is slimy in wet weather and peels off easily. In young mushrooms the cap margin is joined to the stem by a thin white veil, which later leaves a ring zone on the stem.

Cap 3-10 cm across, hemispherical with an inrolled edge when young, becoming convex-flat with time. The color is yellow-chestnut, honey-brown, reddish-brown, darker when young, fading to ocher-yellow with age. The surface is very slimy in wet weather, smooth, shiny. Glossy in dry weather. The skin peels easily from young mushrooms, with more difficulty from old ones.

The hymenophore is made of tubes — they are attached to the stem, yellowish, becoming yellow-olive with age. The pores are small and angular, the same color as the tubes. Spore print ocher-brown. In young mushrooms the pores are covered by a whitish partial veil.

Pores and tubes — the tubes are attached to the stem or slightly decurrent. In young mushrooms they're pale yellow, with characteristic tiny whitish droplets of milky juice. Over time the droplets dry, leaving granular brown dots on the tubes. With age the tubes turn yellow-olive. The pores are small, the same color as the tubes. Spore print ocher-brown.

Stem 4-7 cm tall, 0.5-1 cm thick, cylindrical, slender, often curved. Color: light yellow, with fine reddish-brown dots (glandular dots) above the ring zone. A ring zone from the whitish veil in the upper part is a hallmark of the genus Suillus. Below the ring zone the stem is smooth.

Stem 4-8 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical, even, without a ring. The color is yellowish, and in the upper part with characteristic tiny yellow-brown granular dots — dried droplets of milky juice. This is the main diagnostic feature of the species.

The flesh is soft, pale yellow, watery. When cut it turns faintly pinkish in the cap; in the stem it does not change color. Smell and taste are mild and neutral, with no sharp notes.

Flesh firm when young, softening with age, creamy yellow. When cut it doesn't change color — unlike the velvet bolete. The smell and taste are mild and pleasant, with a slightly fruity note.

Faint, pleasant, mushroomy, with no distinctive undertones.

Pleasant and mushroomy with a light fruity note — especially in young ones.