Boletus purple (Boletus purpureus)
Systematics:- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Boletales
- Family: Boletaceae
- Genus: Boletus (Borovik)
- Species: Boletus purpureus (Boletus purple (Boletus purple))
or
Boletus purple
Photo Credit: Felice Di Palma
Description:
The hat is 5 to 20 cm in diameter, spherical, then convex, the edges are slightly wavy. The skin is velvety, dry, in wet weather, slightly mucous, slightly lumpy. It is colored unevenly: on a grayish or olive-gray background, red-brown, reddish, wine or pink zones, when pressed, it becomes covered with dark blue spots. Often eaten by insects, yellow flesh can be seen in places of damage.
The tubular layer is lemon-yellow, then greenish-yellow, the pores are small, blood-red or orange-red, dark blue when pressed.
Spore powder olive or olive brown, spore size 10.5-13.5 * 4-5.5 microns.
The leg is 6-15 cm high, 2-7 cm in diameter, first tuberous, then cylindrical with a clavate thickening. The color is lemon-yellow with a dense reddish mesh, blackish-blue when pressed.
The pulp is firm at a young age, lemon yellow, when damaged, it instantly becomes black and blue, then after a long time it acquires a wine tint. The taste is sweetish, the smell is sour-fruity, weak.
Spread:
The fungus is quite rare. Distributed in Russia, Ukraine, in European countries, mainly in places with a warm climate. Prefers calcareous soils, more often in hilly and mountainous regions. Found in deciduous and mixed forests next to beech and oak. Fruiting in June-September.
Similarity:
It looks like the edible oak trees Boletus luridus, Boletus erythropus, as well as the satanic mushroom (Boletus satanas), the beautiful inedible bitter ache (Boletus calopus), the pink-skinned ache (Boletus rhodoxanthus) and some other pains with a similar color.
Rating:
Poisonous when raw or undercooked. In Western literature, it is positioned as inedible or poisonous. Due to the rarity, it is better not to collect.