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Penny Bun / Porcini vs Pine Bolete

Boletus edulis and Boletus pinophilus are confused for one another often enough to be worth putting next to each other.

Boletus edulisPenny Bun / PorciniEdible

The king bolete. White pore surface ageing yellow-olive, fat stem with a fine white net, no bitterness.

Boletus pinophilusPine BoleteEdible

A deep red-brown porcini of pine forests, every bit as good as Boletus edulis.

Side by side

Boletus edulisBoletus pinophilus
In this gameEdibleEdible
HabitatMycorrhizal with beech, oak, birch, spruce and pine, in woods and their edges.Under pine and spruce on acid soil, often at altitude.
SeasonSummer to late autumn.Summer to autumn.
Spore printOlive-brown.Olive-brown.

This comparison cannot make a mushroom safe to eat. It sets out the few characteristics this game records, in general terms, for two species that vary by region, age and growing conditions. Real specimens overlap in ways no table and no photograph can separate, and the deadly one here is deadly in a single meal. Ask a qualified local expert, every time.

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Boletus edulis is also confused with Devil's Bolete, Bay Bolete and Birch Bolete.

Boletus pinophilus is also confused with Bay Bolete.

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