Leccinum melaneum

A striking bolete with an almost black cap and very dark stipling on the stem. Perhaps just a very dark form of Birch Bolete (Leccinum scabrum), which is extremely variable in cap colour but usually more brown or straw coloured. Geoffrey Kibby states that it can (only) be separated from with certainty from Birch Bolete by molecular analysis. The specimen shown was photographed in birch woodland near Red Jacket, Jersey Marine.