Imleria badia

Imleria badia.
Imleria badia, the bay bolete, is an edible, pored mushroom found in Europe and North America, growing in coniferous or mixed woods on the ground or on decaying tree stumps. Both the common and scientific names refer to the bay-coloured cap, which is almost spherical in young specimens before broadening and flattening out to 15 cm (6 in) or more in diameter. On the cap's underside are small yellowish pores that bruise dull blue-grey when injured. The smooth, cylindrical stalk, measuring 4–9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) long by 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) thick, is coloured like the cap, but paler. Regarded as a choice edible mushroom by some food writers, such as Antonio Carluccio, it is sold in markets in Europe and central Mexico. The mushroom can bioaccumulate mercury, cobalt, nickel and other metals; radioactive caesium levels spiked in specimens collected in Europe following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.