Edible mushroom. Prized as an ingredient in various foods, is an edible mushroom held in high regard in many cuisines, and is commonly prepared and eaten in soups, pasta, or risotto. The mushroom is low in fat and digestible carbohydrates, and high in protein, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. The fungus produces spore-bearing fruit bodies above ground in summer and autumn. The fruit body has a large brown cap which on occasion can reach 35ácm (14áin) in diameter and 3ákg (6.6álb.) in weight. Like other boletes, it has tubes extending downward from the underside of the cap, rather than gills; spores escape at maturity through the tube openings, or pores. The pore surface of the fruit body is whitish when young, but ages to a greenish-yellow. The stout stipe, or stem, is white or yellowish in color, up to 25ácm (10áin) tall and 10ácm (3.9áin) thick, and partially covered with a raised network pattern, or reticulations.