Spring King Bolete
A highly prized edible, the spring king fruits towards the close of morel season in the mountains of the west from 2000-7000 feet. It is a large species that may reach 16 cm or more across. Despite its size it is not necessarily easy to find as it often is covered with dirt and barely rises above the terrain, forming "mushrumps". It is found under pine and fir, where it often fruits in clusters, unlike most boletes. The color varies from near-white initially to pinkish-orange becoming browner with reddish-orange tints as it ages. It is convex becoming plane with an uneven surface with indentations or a central depressed region. It is smooth, but viscid in wet weather. The pores are initially whitish becoming yellow. They do not change color on bruising. The cap and stalk context is white, firm and unchanging. The stalks are colored like the cap, fairly short and may be 5-7cm thick. Culinarily this porcini is the equal of the summer and fall-fruiting Boletus edulis and can be prepared in all the same ways. It has no poisonous look-alikes. Other boletes are much less commonly encountered in the spring.