Towards the end of the afternoon the Field Club members visiting Pilot's Wood came across a small patch of the Chestnut Bolete, Gyroporus castaneus, in amongst Sweet Chestnut mixed with Oak. This is the first time I have knowingly seen this attractive, inoffensive bolete.
The group of Gyroporus boletes was removed into this less usual genus to sit in their own family because of their really quite unusual cellular morphological features. This is one of two generally recognised UK species, the other being the Cornflower Bolete, Gyroporus cyanescens, a larger and chunkier bolete that is mycorrhizal with a large range of trees across its widespread range, and has flesh that blues quite intensely and quickly.
This is a generally light brownish and relatively small bolete with white flesh, and pleasant smell and taste. One of its stand-out features, shared with other members of its genus, is the tendency of the stem to become hollowed out, firstly in a number of separate chambers and then often completely. The cap and stipe are dry and the stipe does not have dots or a reticulum. The cap and stipe may be fairly brittle and split spontaneously. The spore colour is a straw-yellow - unusual for the Boletaceae.
The pores may darken when pressed, or with age, sometimes to quite a dark brown, but the flesh does not change colour, for example to blue, when cut. The pores are free from the stem.
Although the specific name is castaneus, it is I think more generally found in mycorrhizal association with Oak. The geographical distribution covers all 4 home nations, but it is commonest in the southeast of England.
These caps found in Pilot's Wood are lighter than generally expected, but within the potential range. They are mottled, partly concolourous with the stipe which is lighter in colour at the apex than the base, as quite regularly observed.
Showing the spontaneously appearing hollowed out chambers in the stipe:
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