B. frustulo´sus Pk.—frustulum, a small bit. Pileus thick, convex or nearly plane, subglabrous, cracked in areas, white or whitish. Flesh whitish. Tubes equal to or a little longer than the thickness of the flesh of the pileus, depressed about the stem, whitish, becoming pale brown. Stem equal, solid, whitish, reticulated above. Spores 15–17×5–6µ.
Pileus 3–5 in. broad. Stem 1–2 in. long, 6–10 lines thick.
Open grounds and clay banks. Ocean Springs, Mississippi and Akron, Alabama. May and June. Underwood.
The deeply cracked surface of the pileus is the most notable feature of this species. This sometimes is seen even in quite young plants. The cracked areas are quite unequal in size. The deep chinks with sloping sides cause them to appear like frusta of polygonal pyramids. In some specimens the reticulations of the stem extend nearly or quite to its base, and make the place of the species ambiguous between the Calopodes and Edules. Peck, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 24, No. 3.
Mt. Gretna, Pa., September, 1898, on soil over red conglomerate and on road-sides. McIlvaine.
The deep cracks in the cap readily distinguish this species. After rains the caps are frequently slightly dished and widely cracked at margin. The exposed flesh dries with a fine silky gloss. The caps are excellent. The tubes and stem should be removed.
B. cras´sipes Pk.—thick-footed. (Plate [CXVI], fig. 5, p. 420.) Pileus convex or centrally depressed, firm, dry, velvety, brown tinged with yellow, the wavy or lobed involute margin extending beyond the tubes. Flesh lemon-yellow, unchangeable, taste sweet, odor like that of yeast. Tubes rather short, depressed around the stem, almost free, yellowish mottled with brown, the mouths minute, stuffed when young. Stem stout, thick, sometimes swollen in the middle and sometimes bulbous, beautifully reticulated but the reticulations sometimes disappearing with age, orange-yellow tinged with brown. Flesh of a brighter yellow than that of the pileus.
Pileus 5–10 cm. broad. Stem 6–8 cm. long, 2.5–3.5 cm. thick.
Oak woods. Mt. Gretna, Pa. August and September. McIlvaine.
The thick, beautifully reticulated stem, the deep velvety brown color of the pileus and the yellow color of the flesh serve to distinguish this species. Peck, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 27, January, 1900.