Spring King Bolete
Highly esteemed for the table, the spring king is every bit the culinary equal of the later-fruiting porcini, Boletus edulis, or king bolete. It appears in the mountain west under fir or pine trees at elevations from 2000-7000 feet towards the end of the spring morel season, usually from late May well into June. It may reach 7-8 inches across, but despite its size can be hard to find, as it barely rises above the terrain, forming mushrumps covered with debris. The caps start convex, but become plane with an uneven indented surface as it ages. The color starts pale, becomes pinkish-brown, then reddish-brown to reddish-orange and finally brownish with some marbling of red, yellow and orange tints. The caps are slimy when wet, and dry with adherent debris. The pores start whitish, soon becoming bright yellow and later deep orangish yellow, indented aroung the stalk. Stalks bear a reticulate ornamentaion on the upper portion. They are larger towards the base and may reach 6-7cm across. There are no poisonous look-alikes, but fungal flies like them as much as humans, so beating the maggots to them is a must.