Is this definitely a Bay Bolete?

[Matthew Seal]

In my nearby woods in East Cornwall this current September. Quite large: around 4 inches diameter. Thanks.

[vitog]

The colour doesn't look right according to its description, but I'm not familiar with this species.  The tubes should bruse blue.  Do they?  Also, a better view of the stem would be useful.

[Matthew Seal]

How very kind of you Vitog to engage with me on this, not least as you are quite some distance from me! I found a smaller one nearby which sadly had become dislodged from the earth, but as you can see I photographed the stem. If that makes it easier for you to identify I'd be most grateful for your thoughts.

[vitog]

If you scratch the tubes on the bottom of the cap, do the scratches turn blue?

[Matthew Seal]

How very kind of you Vitog to reply. We just revisited the woods and I can confirm that the 'tubes' (do you mean gills? Sorry I'm new to all this) do NOT turn blue. Thanks if you can advise further!

[vitog]

Well, the Bay Bolete has tubes that scratch blue; so, this is probably not that species.  You'll need to find someone familiar with boletes in your area to get a positive ID.

[Matthew Seal]

Thanks again for your advice.

[Rondolg]

On 9/25/2026 at 11:26 AM, Matthew Seal said:

How very kind of you Vitog to engage with me on this, not least as you are quite some distance from me! I found a smaller one nearby which sadly had become dislodged from the earth, but as you can see I photographed the stem. If that makes it easier for you to identify I'd be most grateful for your thoughts.

.

That's a beautiful specimen! Seeing it alongside that mossy ground suggests a perfect woodland habitat. The clear photo of the stem webbing is exactly what's needed for a safe ID. Did you spot any others nearby?

[vitog]

Come to think about it, when I look at your last photo more carefully, I notice that it doesn't look like the same species as the first two photos.  The cap colour of the last one is more brown, the others are closer to red.  The last one looks more like Boletus edulis, although I don't see any webbing on the stem, possibly because the resolution of the photo is not adequate.  Is there any sign of webbing on either of those mushrooms?