154 BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
Boletus felleus Butt. 
BirtER BOLeETUS 
Hym. Eur. p. 516. Syn. Fung. Vol. VI, p. 43 
Pileus convex or nearly plane, firm, becoming soft, g/ad- 
rous, even, variable in color, pale-yellowish, grayish-brown, 
yellowish-brown, reddish-brown or chestnut, flesh white, 
often changing to flesh-color where wounded, taste dz¢zer,; 
tubes adnate, long, convex, depressed around the stem, their 
mouths angular, white, becoming tinged with flesh-color; 
stem variable, equal or tapering upward, short or long, 
sometimes bulbous or enlarged at the base, subglabrous, 
generally reticulated above, colored like or a little paler 
than the pileus; spores oblong-fusiform, flesh-colored, .0005 
to .0007 in. long, .o0016 to .co02 broad. 
Var. obesus. Pileus large, stem thick, coarsely and dis- 
tinctly reticulated nearly or quite to the base. 
Pileus 3 to 8 in. broad; stem 2 to 4 in. long, 6 to 12 lines 
thick. 
Woods and open places. Common. North Carolina, 
Schwernrtz, Curtes. Pennsylvania, Sehweznztz. New York, 
Peck. New England, frost. Ohio, Morgan. Wisconsin, 
Bundy. Minnesota, Johnson. New Jersey, £d/s. 
This Boletus often occurs on or about much decayed 
stumps and prostrate trunks of hemlock. A favorite habitat 
is in soil largely composed of decayed wood and vegetable 
matter. It is easily recognized by its bitter taste, from 
which it takes its name. 
The variety is large and solitary in its mode of growth. 
It is remarkable for the coarse reticulations of the stem 
which extend nearly or quite to the base. After heavy rains 
the pileus is viscid. It may prove to be a distinct species. 
The flesh in the American plant does not always assume 
incarnate hues where wounded. The color of the fresh 
tubes often changes to a deeper tint where wounded. 
