Yellow boleteNeoboletus junquilleus

Yes. Strong bluing when cut is a characteristic feature of the genus Neoboletus, not a sign of toxicity. The color disappears completely when cooked. Before cooking, it is best to boil it for 10–15 min and pour off the water — a standard precaution for all Neoboletus.

Yes, potentially. In the devil's bolete (Rubroboletus satanas) the cap and flesh also turn blue. The difference: the devil's bolete has red pores (like Neoboletus luridiformis), while our yellow bolete has yellow pores. The devil's bolete has a pale gray cap, the yellow bolete a bright yellow one. Always check the pore color.

That is its closest relative, also edible. Luridiformis has red-orange pores and a stem with a distinct red net. The yellow bolete has YELLOW pores and stem, without a red net. Both are safe, but the pore color is the diagnostic difference.

Oak and oak-beech forests of Zakarpattia, Prykarpattia and mountainous Crimea. It loves limestone soils, warm forest edges and south-facing slopes. It is not found in the northern regions, pure coniferous pine forests or the steppe.

June — September, peaking in July–August. It likes warm, moderately humid summer days after long spells of rain. In very dry years it is rare.

Mostly oak (Quercus robur, Q. petraea) and beech (Fagus sylvatica). Sometimes chestnut in Zakarpattia. It is not found in coniferous forests — this is a southern broadleaf species.

Clean and slice. Boil for 10–15 min in salted water and pour off the first water (to reduce the bluing in the pot). Then fry with onion and butter, stew in cream, or pickle. You can dry it, but because of the watery flesh the result is mediocre.

A narrow ecological niche (limestone soils, warm oak forests), a small number of fruit bodies each year, sensitivity to climate change. It is almost absent from northern Europe — it is mainly a southern European species whose range reaches its edge in the Carpathians and Zakarpattia.