Suillellus amygdalinus
IndexFungorum No. 188: 1. 2014.
Common Name: none
Synonym: Boletus puniceus Thiers; Boletus amygdalinus (Thiers) Thiers
Cap 4-10 cm broad, convex, broadly convex at maturity, margin often lobed or wavy, incurved when young; surface dry, at first chamois-like, then more or less glabrous in age, reddish-brown fading slightly at maturity; flesh thick, reddish beneath the cuticle, otherwise yellow, turning blue immediately when cut; odor and taste mild.
Tubes depressed near stipe; pores rusty-red when young, becoming apricot-red at maturity, quickly bruising blue.
Stipe 4-7 cm tall, 1.5-3.0 cm thick, equal to tapered to the base, solid; surface dry, reddish over a yellowish background, not reticulate, flesh yellow, quickly turning blue when cut.
Spores 11-14 x 5-6.5 µm, elliptical, smooth, conspicuously globulate (2-3 globules per spore); spore print olive-brown.
Solitary to scattered under liveoak (Quercus agrifolia) madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and species of manzanita (Arctostaphylos); fruiting from late fall to mid-winter.
Many red-pored boletes are known to be at least mildly toxic, but this species is becoming known as a good edible mushroom.
Suillellus amygdalinus is a handsome bolete distinguished by a reddish-brown cap, orange-red pores at maturity and rapid blueing of all parts of the fruiting body. Other red-pored boletes include Rubroboletus pulcherrimus, distinquished by a strongly reticulate, club shaped stipe; Rubroboletus eastwoodiae, distinquished by its massive, abruptly bulbous stipe and pale colored cap; and Boletus erythropus (sensu CA) with a darker, almost chocolate-brown cap and dark red pores at maturity.
Bessette, A.E., Roody, W.C. & Bessette, A.R. (2000). North American Boletes: A Color Guide to the Fleshy Pored Mushrooms. Syracuse University Press: Syracuse, NY. 400 p.
Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
Siegel, N. & Schwarz, C. (2016). Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 601 p.
Thiers, H.D. (1965). California Boletes. I. Mycologia 57(4): 524-534. (Protologue)
Thiers, H.D. (1975). California Mushrooms—A Field Guide to the Boletes. Hafner Press: New York, NY. 261 p. (WWW)
Vizzini, A. (2014). Nomenclatural Novelties. IndexFungorum No. 188: 1.
— very young sporocarp
— note the dark blue staining of the pores and stipe
