Banana Bolete

PEI’s dry summer has made for poor mushroom hunting so far. My go-to spots have yielded just a handful of edible Chanterelles and Meadow Mushrooms, a mixed-bag of Russulas, the ubiquitous Fly Agaric, and a few LBMs (little brown mushrooms) that are above my skill level. I was thus very happy to find these beautiful Banana Boletes (Hemileccinum subglabripes).

This mushroom’s ‘official’ name is Smoothish-stemmed Bolete, but I much prefer Banana Bolete. From above, the cap is rounded, smooth, and tan to reddish-brown – not unlike any number of other wild mushrooms (left photo). Like most fungi, the key to identification of Banana Bolete lies in what’s under the cap: spore surface, stem, texture, and colour. Trying to identify a mushroom from above is very much like trying to identify a person from just the top of their head.

Underneath Banana Bolete’s cap are spongy pores rather than gills, folds, or teeth (top right photo). Right away, this tells you it’s a bolete: not all boletes have spongy pores but mushrooms with spongy pores are boletes. Young specimens like this one are banana-yellow inside and out. Cut one in half and you’ll see both flesh and pores are yellow, and they don’t change colour like some other members of this group (bottom right photo; this particular specimen does have some insect damage, hence a bit of brown). As they age, Banana Boletes tend to become more olive and develop reddish colours on the lower part of the stem.

If you’ve been following this page, you may have noticed that the name Hemileccinum is similar to that of the Leccinum group of mushrooms (Scaber Stalks) I told you about last fall (https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/scaber-stalks). Overall, this is a very Leccinum-like Bolete, with a stem that’s thin like Birch Bolete (Leccinum scabrum) and – if you look closely at one in the field – a somewhat rough-textured (aka scabrous) stem.

Like most boletes, Banana Boletes are mycorrhizal, and this species forms relationships with Birch, Oak, and Poplar trees among others. This is a mutually-beneficial relationship, with the fungus providing water and nutrients to the trees in exchange for carbohydrates (sugar) the trees make via photosynthesis. To find a particular mycorrhizal fungus, look for its host trees; you’ll find Banana Boletes under hardwoods throughout eastern North America in summer and fall.

This is one of the Island’s many edible wild mushrooms. I only found a couple in my recent foray and so let them be, but I’ll return to the area after we’ve had a bit of rain to see if I can find more. They get mixed reviews, with some foragers ranking them up there with King Boletes (one of my favourites!) and others describing them as just fair. Other than Kings, most of the Boletes I’ve tried have been underwhelming and somewhat bland, but I’ll give Banana Boletes a chance. If you find some, remember to try any new-to-you mushroom well-cooked and in moderation – not all mushrooms agree with all people.

Banana Boletes are among the many beautiful and ecologically-important fungi of PEI Untamed!