Leccinum percandidum

Yes. The intense reaction when cut (blue-green turning black) is a normal trait of the species. What's more, among all aspen boletes this reaction is the most dramatic in the white one. When cooked, the color settles to dark gray — that's normal, and the mushroom stays edible and tasty.

There are no serious dangerous lookalikes. All aspen boletes and birch boletes in Ukraine are edible. It can be confused with a young ghost bolete (also white), but that doesn't matter — both are safe.

Damp pine and mixed forests with pine and birch. Polissia (Chernihiv, Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions), the Carpathians, Prykarpattia. It likes peaty and sandy-boggy microhabitats. It loves mossy "cushions" with bilberry and lingonberry.

From mid-August to the end of September — a short season. In good years, after heavy summer rains, it appears en masse in September. In dry years it turns up only singly or not at all.

The classic aspen bolete (Leccinum aurantiacum) has a bright orange or red cap. The white one is white or cream. Both darken when cut, but the white one darkens more dramatically — faster and all the way to black. The white one is also bigger: up to 25 cm versus 12–15 for the classic one.

With pine and birch, less often with spruce and alder. Most likely in damp mixed forests with both trees. It does not grow in pure deciduous forests or in the steppe belt.

Young, firm ones — pickle them (they hold their shape better than most aspen boletes). Medium ones — fry with onions, add to soups. Old ones — dry them (though the color will be dark). Before cooking you can parboil it for 10–15 min and pour off the first water — this reduces the intense darkening in the pot.

Not often. One fruit body per 100–200 m² is the typical density. But because of its large size (1+ kg), finding 5–7 "loaves" is enough for a full basket. Rarer than the classic aspen bolete and the orange oak bolete.