| Boletus calopus | |
|---|---|
| Boletus calopus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Boletales |
| Family: | Boletaceae |
| Genus: | Boletus |
| Species: | B. calopus |
| Binomial name | |
| Boletus calopus Pers. (1801) |
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| Boletus calopus | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
| pores on hymenium | |
| cap is convex | |
| hymenium is adnate | |
| stipe is bare | |
| spore print is olive-brown | |
| ecology is mycorrhizal | |
| edibility: inedible | |
Boletus calopus, commonly known as the bitter beech bolete or scarlet-stemmed bolete, is a fungus of the bolete family, found in Northern Europe and North America. Appearing in coniferous and deciduous woodland in summer and autumn, the fruiting bodies are attractively coloured, with a reddish stem, yellow pores and a beige to olive cap. The bitter-tasting flesh stains blue when broken or bruised and is not edible.
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Described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1801, it derives its specific name from the Greek καλος ("pretty") and πους ("foot"), referring to its brightly coloured stalk. Its German name, Schönfußröhrling or 'Pretty-foot bolete' is a literal translation. An alternate common name is scarlet-stemmed bolete.[1]
Up to 12 cm (5 in) in diameter, the cap is beige to olive with yellow pores beneath. The attractively colored stalk, is yellow above to pink-red below, and with a straw colored network (reticulation). The pale yellow flesh stains blue when broken. The spore print is olive to olive-brown. The smell can be strong.
It grows in coniferous and deciduous woodland, often at higher altitudes, especially under beech and oak, on chalky ground from July to December, in Northern Europe and North America's Pacific Northwest and Michigan[2], though the latter appears to be a different subspecies if not a separate species.
One Russian author has listed Boletus calopus as edible (Vasil’eva, 1978), yet it is regarded by most as at least inedible due to its bitter taste, or even mildly poisonous. Although it is an attractive looking bolete, it has a very bitter taste and is not considered edible. The bitter taste does not disappear upon cooking.[3]