TempoLife › Wild food and foraging guide › birch-bolete

Birch bolete

Leccinum scabrum — Edible, cook thoroughly.

Never eat a wild mushroom or plant identified only from a website, book or app. Several deadly species look almost identical to edible ones, and mistakes can be fatal. Learn from an experienced forager in person, be certain of every specimen, and when in doubt, throw it out.

What it is

A common, tall bolete with a scruffy, scaly stem, found reliably under birch from early summer. It is best young and firm, and should always be cooked well, as some people find undercooked boletes hard to digest.

Where and when to find it

Under birch trees, with which it lives in partnership. In season roughly June to October.

Look-alikes and safety

The Leccinum group (birch and orange-cap boletes) is generally edible when well cooked, but the caps go soft and slimy with age. As with all boletes, steer clear of any specimen with red pores.

Nutrition

Low in energy, similar to other boletes. As with all wild food, the health value only matters once you are completely certain of a safe identification.

More wild foods

Source: Edibility and look-alike notes follow standard mycological and botanical references for the region. This page is a starting reference, not an identification authority. · checked 2026-09-04

Frequently asked questions