Smith’s bolete is a mid-size bolete found under conifers from the coast through the Cascades. It is one of the more variably colored boletes in the region: caps start rosy pink and, as they age, break up into patches of yellow and gray, sometimes several colors on the same cap at once. Yellow pores that bruise blue slowly and erratically, and a stem that is pink at the top and paler toward the base, round out the picture (Siegel & Schwarz).
Its edibility is unsettled — Mushrooms of Cascadia (Siegel & Schwarz) calls it unknown and notes that a closely related eastern species is mildly toxic, while some older guides list it as edible (MycoMatch).
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5–15 cm across (rarely to 25), convex becoming broadly convex and often wavy in age. Dry and finely velvety, smoother with age. Starts out a deep rose-pink, then blotches unevenly toward yellow and gray as it matures — often several of these colors on the same cap at once; old caps can turn mostly gray to olive (Siegel & Schwarz).
Pores
Small, round to irregular. Yellow at first, sometimes with a reddish blush or dingy yellow tone in age. Bruises blue slowly and unevenly — quickly on some specimens, not at all on others (Siegel & Schwarz).
Stem
Usually 1–3.5 cm thick and 5–18 cm tall, widening toward the base. Rosy pink over the upper portion, yellow to whitish near the base, finely dotted with pink specks when young and smoother with age. Not netted (Siegel & Schwarz; Thiers).
Flesh
Yellow, keeping a thin pink zone under the cap skin even in old specimens. Firm when young, softening with age (Siegel & Schwarz).
Spore print
Olive-brown.
Odor & taste
Not distinctive; taste mild (Siegel & Schwarz).
Orange-red cap with a yellow margin. Photo: Jeremy Collison / CC BY-NCOlder cap, faded to gray and tan with pink patches. Photo: Jeremy Collison / CC BY-NC
Pink fading through yellow to gray, yellow pores, pink stem apex
No two caps look quite alike: young ones are rosy pink, and with age the color breaks up into patches of yellow and gray, sometimes all three at once. Yellow pores that bruise blue slowly (or not at all), a pink-topped stem that is not netted, and yellow flesh with a thin pink line under the cap skin identify this species (Siegel & Schwarz).
Similar Species
Mushrooms of Cascadia names these look-alikes:
C. rubripes. Photo: Jeremy Collison / CC BY-NCWestern bitter bolete (Caloboletus rubripes): Cap is a soft, suede-textured gray-brown rather than pink; the pale yellow flesh stains blue fast, the taste is bitter, and only the stem base — not the whole stem — shows red, and only while young (MycoMatch). Mushrooms of Cascadia lists its edibility as unknown and not recommended, noting reports of mild stomach upset from other Caloboletus.
B. autumniregius. Photo: andy71 / CC0Rosy Autumn Butter Bolete (Butyriboletus autumniregius): Cap surface is smooth, not velvety like Smith’s bolete, and stays a fairly even rosy red rather than breaking into patches; the stem carries fine netting (reticulation) that Smith’s bolete lacks.
Xerocomellus species: Faded caps can look similar, but these boletes are usually smaller, and in most species the cap surface cracks (Siegel & Schwarz).
A Name Still in Flux
Smith’s bolete is still catalogued as Boletus smithii in iNaturalist and most current references, but the genus Boletus proper is reserved for species related to the porcini, and this one doesn’t belong there. Mushrooms of Cascadia (Siegel & Schwarz) and other recent sources treat the name as a placeholder, provisionally suggesting the genus Pulchroboletus once the group is formally described — which is why newer literature sometimes writes it as ‘Boletus’ smithii, in quotes. Until that transfer is published, the accepted scientific name stays Boletus smithii.
Habitat & Season
Smith’s bolete grows singly, scattered, or in small groups on the ground under conifers — especially hemlock, fir, and spruce — in forests from the coast through the Cascades. It has been documented in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, and British Columbia (Siegel & Schwarz; Thiers; Bessette). It fruits mainly in summer and fall; iNaturalist observations from Oregon and Washington run from June through November, with a clear peak in August:
Based on 756 iNaturalist observations from Oregon and Washington
Edibility
Uncertain — not a target species
Mushrooms of Cascadia (Siegel & Schwarz) lists the edibility of Smith’s bolete as unknown, noting that a closely related species in eastern North America is mildly toxic. Some older guides (Bessette; Phillips, via MycoMatch) call it edible, but with the genus itself unsettled (see above) and no Pacific Northwest safety data, it isn’t a species to target here. When in doubt, don’t eat it.
