A striking bolete with a sticky, apple-red cap, dark red pores that often bead with yellowish droplets when young, and a coarsely and deeply reticulate red stem. All parts bruise blue. It grows with oaks and other hardwoods in eastern North America, Texas and the Southwest; records farther south may be a different species. Sources disagree on its edibility.
Edibility disputed; not recommended. Biketova et al. (2022) call it edible after prolonged cooking but note that Smith & Thiers did not recommend it because it sometimes causes gastrointestinal upset; Wikipedia notes several authors advise against eating it. Some other red-pored, blue-staining boletes are poisonous.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
Habitat
Mycorrhizal with oaks and other hardwoods; alone, scattered or gregarious, summer to early autumn (June-September in the East). Pure-culture mycorrhizae with Virginia pine are reported; associated with Quercus laurina in the field.
Distribution
Eastern North America from Quebec and Maine south to Georgia and Florida, west to Michigan, Wisconsin and Tennessee; also Texas and southern Arizona. It is also reported from Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica, but those records lack molecular confirmation, and Biketova et al. (2022) suspect they are an undescribed species.
Characteristics
Cap: 3.5-8 cm (MushroomExpert; Wikipedia gives 5-15 cm), convex to broadly convex, sticky or thinly slimy when fresh, bright red, developing yellowish areas with age; margin with a narrow overhanging sterile edge. Pores: dark to pale red, becoming dirty brownish red, 2-3 per mm, often beaded with yellowish droplets when young, bruising dark blue promptly; tubes yellowish to olive, up to 15 mm deep. Stem: 4-8 cm long, up to 2 cm thick (MushroomExpert; Wikipedia gives 4-12 x 1-2.5 cm), red, coarsely and prominently reticulate over its full length, often bruising blue. Flesh: whitish to lemon yellow, bluing when cut. Spore print: olive brown. Spores: 11-17 x 4-5 um (MushroomExpert; Wikipedia 11-15 x 4-5 um; Biketova et al. 2022 12-15 x 3.7-5 um), fusiform, smooth.
