Boletus pulcherrimus

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Boletus pulcherrimus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi Division: Basidiomycota Class: Homobasidiomycetes Order: Boletales Family: Boletaceae Genus: Boletus Species: B. pulcherrimus
Binomial name
Boletus pulcherrimus Fr. (1832)

Boletus pulcherrimus (formerly B. eastwoodiae) is a large imposing red-pored bolete from Western North America. To date it is the only bolete that has been implicated in the death of someone consuming it; a couple developed gastrointestinal symptoms in 1994 after eating this fungus with the husband succumbing. Autopsy revealed infarction of the midgut.^[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ Benjamin DR. "Red-pored boletes": 359-360.  in: (1995) Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas — a handbook for naturalists, mycologists and physicians. New York: WH Freeman and Company.