A small, drab reddish-brown bolete with cinnamon to coppery pores, bright yellow mycelium at the stem base and an intensely peppery taste. It was long thought to be mycorrhizal with conifers but is now suspected to be a parasite on the mycorrhizae of the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). It is native to Europe and North America and has spread with introduced trees in the Southern Hemisphere.
Usually considered inedible and reported to contain toxins; it has been used in small amounts as a peppery condiment, and some sources advise thorough cooking to reduce the risk of stomach upset. Not recommended as food. Chalciporus piperatoides is nearly identical but bruises blue.
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Habitat
Alone, scattered or in groups under conifers, also under aspen and other hardwoods, often near fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), summer and fall. In New Zealand it has been seen fruiting near fly agarics under native Nothofagus.
Distribution
Europe and North America (fairly widespread, more common in the north and west), Mexico and Central America; also recorded from Pakistan, India (West Bengal), China (Guangdong) and South Africa. Introduced under planted trees in southern Brazil and Chile, and naturalized in Tasmania and Victoria (Australia) and New Zealand.
Characteristics
Cap: 2-7 cm, convex; sticky when fresh, then dry and shiny; dull reddish brown to pinkish tan, fading to tan. Pores: cinnamon to reddish brown, becoming dull coppery; bruising dark rusty brown, not blue; 1-2 per mm near the margin; tubes to 5 mm. Stem: 2-5 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, colored like the cap; bright to dull yellow mycelium at the base. Flesh: yellowish to pinkish in the cap, brighter yellow in the stem; unchanging or slightly pinkish. Taste: strongly peppery. Spore print: brown to reddish brown. Spores: 7-11 x 3-4 µm, smooth, subfusoid.
