Ash Tree Bolete

Photo of two ash tree boletes, tan pored mushrooms, one overturned showing pores
Edible
Scientific Name
Boletinellus merulioides
Family
Boletaceae
Description

Pored, with a brownish, wavy cap, off-center stalk, and clearly defined pores. Grows scattered on the ground near ash trees. June–October. Cap slightly humped to flat to deeply sunken; yellowish brown to reddish brown; flesh is yellowish, sometimes turning bluish green; texture dry, dull, soft; margin is curved in when young, and spreading, wavy, and uplifted when mature. Pores large; shallow, uneven; light yellowish, bruising to dark olive; arranged in a radial pattern, and quite beautiful. The pores of the ash tree bolete adhere to the cap of the mushroom; most other boletes have easily detachable pores. Stalk thick; brownish, bruising reddish brown; texture dry solid, off-center. Spore print olive brown. Spores magnified are elliptical. There are no lookalikes in Missouri.

Size
Cap width: 2–5 inches; stalk length: ½–1½ inches; stalk width: ¼–1 inch.
Where To Find
image of Ash Tree Bolete Distribution Map
Statewide.
Grows scattered on the ground near ash trees.
Edible.
Like other mushrooms, the capped, aboveground portion is a reproductive structure whose purpose is to make and release spores. Most of the time, the organism lives in the soil as a mycelium, a netlike system of fibers.
The ash tree bolete can yield a dye to produce brown or orange-brown colors. Although this is an edible mushroom, it gets mixed reviews for its flavor.
Speculation about this mushroom's possibly having a symbiotic relationship with certain species of aphids appears to be just that: speculation.
Media Gallery
Photo of two ash tree boletes, tan pored mushrooms, one overturned showing pores
Anonymous
1/1
Photo of two ash tree boletes, tan pored mushrooms, one overturned showing pores
Similar Species
About Mushrooms in Missouri

Mushrooms are a lot like plants, but they lack chlorophyll and have to take nutrients from other materials. Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals. They are in a different kingdom — the fungi. Fungi include the familiar mushroom-forming species, plus the yeasts, molds, smuts, and rusts.

Always be cautious when eating edible mushrooms. Be absolutely sure of the ID, and only eat a small amount the first time you try it to avoid a reaction..