Purple Bolete

Description

The Purple Bolete, now scientifically known as Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus, is a striking and robust bolete characterized by its pale cap, red pores, and a stem that is yellow at the apex and red towards the base, often covered with a red reticulation. A key identifying feature is its strong bluing reaction when cut or bruised. It is a toxic species, causing gastrointestinal upset if consumed.

How to Identify

Cap

Typically 6-20 cm (2.4-7.9 in) in diameter, hemispherical to convex, becoming broadly convex to almost flat with age. The color is usually whitish, grayish-white, or pale buff, sometimes with a pinkish or yellowish tinge. The surface is dry, smooth, and often finely velvety when young, becoming glabrous with age. It does not bruise blue on the surface, but the flesh beneath will.

Gills

Pore surface is initially yellow, rapidly becoming deep red to crimson, especially towards the margin. Pores are small and round. They bruise dark blue to blackish-blue instantly upon touch.

Stem

5-15 cm (2-6 in) long and 2-6 cm (0.8-2.4 in) thick, robust, often bulbous or swollen at the base, tapering slightly towards the apex. The color is yellow at the apex, transitioning to red or carmine-red over the lower two-thirds. It is typically covered with a prominent, coarse, red reticulation (net-like pattern) over a yellow background, especially on the upper part. The base may show yellowish mycelium. The flesh of the stem also stains blue when cut.

Flesh

Pale yellow to lemon-yellow, especially in the cap and upper stem. It stains intensely blue immediately upon cutting or bruising, particularly in the cap and upper stem, fading somewhat to greenish-blue over time.

Fruiting body

A robust, fleshy mushroom with a cap, pores (not gills), and a central stem.

Habitat

Mycorrhizal, forming symbiotic relationships with deciduous trees, particularly oak (Quercus), beech (Fagus), and sometimes hornbeam (Carpinus). It grows solitarily or scattered on the ground in broadleaf woodlands.

Key Facts

• Cap surfaces: Dry, smooth to finely velvety, glabrous with age.
• Growth Form: Terrestrial, mycorrhizal.
• Spore Print: Olive-brown to brownish-olive.
• Body color: Cap whitish/pale, pores red, stem yellow and red with red reticulation.
• Odor: Mild.
• Flesh bruises: Intensely blue immediately upon cutting or bruising.
• Height: 5-15 cm (2-6 in)
• Cap Diameter: 6-20 cm (2.4-7.9 in)
• Nutrient gathering: Mycorrhizal

Quick Check

• Odor: Mild, sometimes described as slightly fruity or indistinct.
• Fruiting: Solitary to scattered.
• Substrate: Terrestrial, mycorrhizal with deciduous trees.

Where to Find

Finding Tips

Similar Species

Scientific Classification

Phylum

Basidiomycota

Class

Agaricomycetes

Order

Boletales

Family

Boletaceae

Genus

Rubroboletus

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