A mushroom I thought I would never find here.

[John Smalldridge]

A boletus edulis group species. This one was found in what was once a 1800's era plantation under some remaining live oaks that once lined the road to the main house. I'm still trying to determine exactly which one I have. I posted some photos of ones I found earlier on the I.D. forum. The variety of mushrooms in Eastern N.C. really amazes me.

[Dave W]

John, I think these are Boletus atkinsonii.. .or maybe B. variipes or B. reticualtus. These retucluate non-staining boletes are all hardwood associates. One strain of B. edulis does occur uncommonly with oak (here in PA/NY). It has a reddish cap color.

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/boletus_atkinsonii.html

Each of the species mentioned is an excellent edible.

[John Smalldridge]

Found two more yesterday under different oak trees, so they seem to be spread out in the area where I found the others. I will try the ammonia test to see if I can narrow down the species further.

[Cedric]

Very nice! Definitely looks like B. Edulis group. I am not familiar yet with the US ones so can only hazard a guess. For the second one, It looks like the Boletus Edulis of Europe (thin while line at the edge of the cap is a tell-tale sign) or Boletus Reticulatus/Aestivalis. The stem is too light in colour to be Boletus Aereus, or Pinophilus.

[Dave W]

In North America, I believe that B. aereus is strictly a west-coast species. Phillips lists B. aestivalis as a European species.

Here in eastern NA there seems to be some debate about the occurrence of B. pinophilus. This type may actually be a non-staining version of B. subcaerulescens, which typically shows very faint bluing on the pores or flesh where the tubes attach. This type(s) associates with pine.

Boletus nobilis and B. separans (= Xanthoconium separans) are also names to consider. These types favor hardwood forests.

All the names mentioned within this thread are considered to be either varieties of B. edulis, or close relatives. All excellent edibles.