Boletus zelleri

Pileus
Cap 4-11 cm broad, convex, nearly plane at maturity; brown to blackish-brown, velvety, smooth to uneven, with a whitish bloom when young, occasionally aereolate in age; flesh pallid to yellowish, sometimes bruising blue.

Hymenophore
Pores small, pallid, becoming yellowish-green, often (but not always) bruising blue.

Stipe
Stipe 5-10 cm long, 1-3 cm thick, more or less equal, dry, reddish over a yellow ground color, usually yellow at the base.

Spores
Spores 11-15 x 4-6 µm, smooth, fusiform (spindle-shaped). Spore print olive-brown.

Habitat
Solitary or in small groups from early fall to mid-winter under conifers, particularly Douglas fir and coast redwood.

Edibility
Edible and good, but often infected with fly larvae.

Comments
This handsome bolete is most easily recognized by examining young material which has a blackish-brown velvety cap, yellowish pores that usually bruise blue, and a reddish stipe. Boletus chrysenteron is similar but the cap is not as dark and tends to crack at maturity.