Plate 61, Figure 170.—Boletus obsonium. Cap cinnamon to pink or hazel in color, slightly tomentose; stem white, then pale flesh color (natural size). Copyright.
The pileus is convex to nearly expanded, flat. When moist it is very viscid and reddish brown, paler and yellowish when it is dry, but very variable in color, pink, red, yellow, tawny, and brown shades. The flesh is pale yellow. The tubes are joined squarely to the stem, short, yellowish, and the edges of the tubes, that is, at the open end (often called the mouth), are dotted or granulated. The stem is dotted in the same way above. The spores in mass are pale yellow; singly they are spindle-shaped.
Figure 171.—Boletus americanus. Cap slimy, yellow, sometimes with reddish spots, tubes yellowish (natural size). Copyright.
The species is edible, though some say it should be regarded with suspicion. Peck has tried it, and I have eaten it, but the viscid character of the plant did not make it a relish for me. There are several species closely related to the granulated Boletus. B. brevipes Pk., is one chiefly distinguished by the short stem, which entirely lacks the glandular dots. It grows in sandy soil, in pine groves and in woods.
Boletus punctipes Pk.—This species has been reported from New York State by Peck. During September, 1899, I found it quite common in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, at an elevation of between 4000 and 5000 feet. It grows on the ground in mixed woods. The plants are 5–8 cm. high, the caps 5–7 cm. broad, and the stem 6–10 mm. in thickness.