120 BRITISH EDIBLE FUNGI. 



The chestnut boletus {Boletus castaneus) is dis- 

 tinguished from all the other species we have named 

 by its white, afterwards yellowish spores. It is not 

 common in woods, but is a neat, clean-looking 

 species. The cap is about three inches in diameter, 

 depressed when old, and then shallow concave, of a 

 dark rufous tan colour and velvety ; the flesh is thick, 

 coloured beneath the cuticle like the cap, but not 

 changing colour, the stem is variable in length, and 

 almost equal, of a cinnamon colour, without a ring. 

 The pores on the under side of the cap are white, 

 then dirty yellow, free from the stem. There are but 

 scanty references to this as an edible species, and we 

 have not met with any one but ourselves in this 

 country who has cooked and eaten it. Still we give 

 the preference to Boletus granulatus. 



There are other kinds which have been suggested 

 or recommended, but we have given sufficient, and 

 those omitted are not equal to those inserted. Mr 

 Worthington Smith writes — " Before I properly knew 

 Boletus edulis, I ate all sorts of boleti in mistake for 

 it, notably Boletus chrysenteron." This latter species 

 we should not have included under any circumstances, 

 since some report it as suspicious, and others as 

 " nasty." 



