_Boletus edulis_
[Sidenote: =A famous delicacy=]
The most prominent member of the Boleti is the typical species whose
portrait I have given on Plate 20, "in vain calling himself '_edulis_,'
where there were none to believe him." But in spite of this remark
of Dr. Badham, which had reference especially to his native country,
England, this fungus had long been a favorite article of food among
a large class of the more lowly Europeans, to say nothing of the
luxurious epicures of the continent.
_Boletus edulis_ is to be found singly or in groups, usually in the
woods. Its average diameter is perhaps four or five inches, though
specimens are occasionally found of double these dimensions. A letter
to the writer from a correspondent in the Rocky Mountains describes
specimens measuring fifteen inches in diameter having been found there.
[Sidenote: =Specific characters=]
The cushion-like cap is more or less convex, according to age, of a
soft brownish or drab color somewhat resembling kid, and with velvety
softness to the touch. The under surface or hymenium is thickly beset,
honey-combed with minute vertical pores, which will leave a pretty
account of themselves upon a piece of white paper laid beneath them
and protected from the least draught, a process by which we may always
obtain a deposit of the ochre-tinted spores, as is further described in
a later chapter.
In _Boletus edulis_ this pore surface is white in young specimens,
later yellow, finally becoming bright olive-green; flesh _white_ or
_creamy_, unchangeable on fracture. Stem paler than cap, thick, swollen
at base, often malformed and elongated, especially when from a cluster,
generally more or less covered with vertical raised ridges, which
become somewhat netted together and pinkish as they approach the cap.
The taste is sweet, and in the very young specimen, which is brittle,
quite suggestive of raw chestnut.
[Sidenote: =Insects and decay=]
Any Boletus answering this description may be eaten without fear,
assuming, of course, that its substance is free from any taint
of dissolution and traces of insect contamination. Both of these
conditions are too apt to prevail in the mature specimens, and all
Boleti are more safely employed for food in their young crisp stage,
or at least before their full expansion. In their maturity, moreover,
they often prove too mucilaginous in consistency to be pleasant to the
average partaker, especially the novice.
[Sidenote: =Preparation for table=]
In preparing them for the table, all that is necessary is to cut off
the stems, which are apt to be tough and fibrous, and to wipe the
pellicle of the cap perfectly clean, or, if preferred, to pare the
pileus with a very sharp knife. It is recommended by some that the
entire mass of the pore section be removed. In a mature specimen this
would reduce the bulk of the mushroom by half, and, moreover, deprive
the remainder of the full flavor of the fungus. I have not found it
necessary, and it is certainly needless in a young and tender specimen.
[Illustration: _Boletus scaber_]
_PLATE XXI_