Imleria badia

Imleria badia, commonly known as the bay bolete, is a species of pored mushroom. First described scientifically by Elias Fries in 1818, the bay bolete was reclassified as Xerocomus badius in 1931, and it is still listed thus in several sources. Modern molecular phylogenetic studies show Xerocomus to be polyphyletic (not descended from the same common ancestor), and the bay bolete is not particularly closely related to species in that genus.

Both the common and scientific names refer to the bay- or chestnut-coloured cap, which is almost spherical in young specimens before broadening and flattening out to a diameter up to 15 cm (6 in). On the cap underside are small yellowish pores that turn dull blue-grey when bruised. The smooth, cylindrical stipe, measuring 4–9 cm (1+1⁄2–3+1⁄2 in) long by 1–2 cm (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) thick, is coloured like the cap, but paler. The species is found in Eurasia and North America, growing in coniferous or mixed woods on the ground or on decaying tree stumps, sometimes in prolific numbers. Some varieties have also been described from eastern North America, differing from the main type in both macroscopic and microscopic morphology.