ces on
the ground. Like _B. americanus_, it is usually found under or near
pines. It occurs during the summer and autumn, sometimes appearing very
late in the season. The plants are 3--6 cm. high, the cap is 4--10 cm.
broad, and the stem is 8--12 mm. in thickness. The plants usually are
clustered, though not often very crowded.

[Illustration: PLATE 61, FIGURE 170.--Boletus obsonium. Cap cinnamon to
pink or hazel in color, slightly tomentose; stem white, then pale flesh
color (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex to nearly expanded, flat. When moist it is very
viscid and reddish brown, paler and yellowish when it is dry, but very
variable in color, pink, red, yellow, tawny, and brown shades. The flesh
is pale yellow. The =tubes= are joined squarely to the stem, short,
yellowish, and the edges of the tubes, that is, at the open end (often
called the mouth), are dotted or granulated. The =stem= is dotted in the
same way above. The =spores= in mass are pale yellow; singly they are
spindle-shaped.

[Illustration: FIGURE 171.--Boletus americanus. Cap slimy, yellow,
sometimes with reddish spots, tubes yellowish (natural size).
Copyright.]

The species is edible, though some say it should be regarded with
suspicion. Peck has tried it, and I have eaten it, but the viscid
character of the plant did not make it a relish for me. There are
several species closely related to the granulated Boletus. _B. brevipes_
Pk., is one chiefly distinguished by the short stem, which entirely
lacks the glandular dots. It grows in sandy soil, in pine groves and in
woods.

=Boletus punctipes= Pk.--This species has been reported from New York
State by Peck. During September, 1899, I found it quite common in the
Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, at an elevation of between 4000
and 5000 feet. It grows on the ground in mixed woods. The plants are
5--8 cm. high, the caps 5--7 cm. broad, and the stem 6--10 mm. in
thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 172.--Boletus punctipes. Cap viscid when moist,
reddish brown, pink, yellow, tawny, etc., tubes yellowish, stem dark
punctate (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex, sometimes becoming nearly plane, and it is quite
thick in the center, more so than the granulated boletus, while the
margin is thin, and when young with a minute gray powder. The margin
often becomes upturned when old; the cap is viscid when moist, dull
yellow. The =tubes= are short, their lower surface pla