Boletus regius

An edible but underwhelming yellow-pored bolete that favors live oak and fruits in the Autumn in Northern California. The base of the stems have a reddish tint, with red or pink areas within the flesh at the base as well. They stain blue when cut, but not as strongly as the poisonous red-pored boletes like B. satanis or amygdalinus. B. regius can grow fairly large (the caps pictured above were about 5 inches across) and its flesh has an excellent firm texture. Like many of the lesser boletes and leccinum, its flavor improves markedly when dried. The process of drying also helps to eliminate the critters that almost invariably inhabit these mushrooms.