Boletus erythropus    (Fr.:Fr.) Pers. 

common name(s) : Scarletina Bolete, Spotted-stem Bolete 

New classification: Basidiomycota/Agaricomycotina/Agaricomycetes/Agaricomycetidae/Boletales/Boletaceae  
Former classification: Basidiomycota/Homobasidiomycetes/Agaricomycetideae/Boletales/Boletaceae/Boletoideae [ section:Luridi sub-section:Luridini]  

synonyms: Neoboletus luridiformis, Boletus luridiformis, Boletus erythropus-erythropus, Boletus miniatoporus, Tubiporus erythropus 
(unconfirmed synonyms: Neoboletus erythropus)  

edibility : edible if well cooked

photo gallery of  Boletus erythropus
photo gallery of  Boletus erythropus potential confusions with  Boletus erythropus toxicity of Boletus erythropus genus Boletus  

The cap is tawny to dark brown, sometimes with shades of red, fleshy end firm, thick, hemispherical, then convex and eventually almost flat. The cap surface is downy and dry, as if covered with a fine dust, slightly viscid in damp weather. The cap margin is regular, inrolled a long time, with a thin yellowish rim.

The stem is thick, full, sturdy, cylindrical to obese or swollen towards its base. It is yellow coloured, brownish in the lower third, the whole stem being densely covered with bright red dots giving it an overall orange-red colour, particularly towards the top. It turns intensely blue when touched or bruised, and does not have any network..

The flesh is thick, dense and firm, getting softer when mature. It is bright yellow, with brown or purple at the base. It turns blue or violet quickly and strongly when in contact with air, then the colour shifts to greenish.; its taste is faint and pleasant; the odour is faint and pleasant;

The tubes are thin, free, more or less long (10-20mm), yellow to greenish, turning blue when sliced..

The pores are narrow, round, red-orange, more orange towards margin, getting brown with age, turning dark blue when pressed. The spore print is dark olive brown.

It grows in ventilated areas of broad-leaved forests (sometimes coniferous forests), on a rather acid soil, with beech, oak, chestnut, spruce.

The fruiting period takes place from May to November.
Dimensions: width of cap approximately 13 cm (between 5 and 20 cm)
  height of stem approximately 11 cm (between 4 and 20 cm)
  thickness of stem (at largest section) approximately 35 mm (between 15 and 60 mm)
  spores : 11-19 x 4,5-7 microns, spindle-shaped

Chemical tests : The flesh turns brown when in contact with ammonia (NH3), and does not react to iodine.

Distinctive features : stem covered with red dots; brown velvety cap; red pores, turning deep blue when pressed; yellow flesh, turning blue immediately when exposed to air

Boletus erythropus is frequent and very widely present in the forest of Rambouillet, and is frequent, more generally speaking .
here should be the distribution map of Boletus erythropus in the forest of Rambouillet
Above : distribution map of Boletus erythropus in the forest of Rambouillet



page updated on 14/01/18