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Thk Porous Boi.etinus (Edibi^e) 

 Bolctiuus porosits (Berk.) Peck 



Bolctinus porosus is another mushroom belonging to the family of 

 pore fungi or Polyporaceae. It is seen to be separate from two closely 

 related genera, Boletus and Polyporus, by noting the following facts. 

 In Boletus the flesh is very soft and the pore-layer can easily be sep- 

 arated from the flesh. In Polyporus the flesh is tough and the pore- 

 layer cannot easily be separated from the flesh. Boletinus resembles 

 Polyporus in that the tube layer is not easily separable from the flesh, 

 but it resembles Boletus in having very soft flesh. 



Boletinus porosus grows on damp ground, in the woods and in 

 open places, from July to September. It is often locally quite abun- 

 dant, and often grows in troops, so that if one is found others are 

 likely to be found near b}-. 



The cap is 5 to 12 cm. (2 to 5 inches) broad, dry or moist and 

 sticky, usually shining, smooth, and reddish-brown or yellowish-brown 

 in color. The margin is thin, quite even, and usually turned inward. 

 The shape of the cap is somewhat irregular and often is nearly kidney- 

 shaped. 



The pore surface is yellow. The pores are large and angular but 

 very shallow, and are arranged more or less in radiating rows. Some 

 of the partitions are more prominent than others, appearing somewhat 

 like gills that branch, and are connected by cross partitions of less 

 prominence. The spores are brownish yellow. 



The stem is 2 to 7 cm. (.5 to 1.5 inches) long and is attached to 

 one side of the cap. It is colored like the cap, into which it gradually 

 expands, and it is prominentlv reticulated at the top by the decurrent 

 walls of the tubes. The stem is cjuite tough. 



Old plants sometimes have a disagreeable odor, but when young 

 and fresh the odor and taste are pleasant and the plants make an ex- 

 cellent dish. 



Collected in Champaign county. 



