PLEASE NOTE: This post is intended for sharing fun and interesting facts on mushrooms. It is NOT INTENDED to be used as a guide for identifying edible mushrooms!

Hi everyone and welcome back to our continuing look at mushrooms. This time it will be a regular Monday feature post until I run out of mushrooms that I can identify. Today I will share about a mushroom that I found and photographed late last summer while my friend and I were on one of our day trips down the east highway from our town.

Yellow-Cracked Bolete, top of cap.

We discovered a number of interesting things that day, including this mushroom, called the Yellow-Cracked Bolete. These mushrooms can have a cap up to 8 inches (20cm) across. However, the mushrooms I found were mostly 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10cm) across, with one that was 5 inches (12.5cm) across. All had stems that were 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10cm) long.

They were growing among some birch and spruce trees beside one of the lakes we like to visit each summer. The caps are dry and somewhat velvety and become cracked with age. These mushrooms can be found from June to October. Interestingly I have not seen these mushrooms close to our town, but they become common once we get about 25 miles (40km) away, heading east.

View from underneath the mushroom, sorry, not the best picture.

Although some bolete species are edible, some can cause severe gastric distress. It is always best to know the bolete species thoroughly before eating any. The best thing, as always, is to go out with someone who knows which mushrooms are good edibles, it is so much safer that way. Otherwise, taking photos of them is a better way to enjoy them.

Have a great day everyone and God bless!

Steve. ©2026 Steve McLeod.