Hortiboletus rubellus

Ruby Bolete

A small bolete with a velvety scarlet to raspberry-red cap that fades with age, yellow pores and flesh that slowly turn blue, and a slender yellow stem reddening toward the base. It grows with oaks and beech in woodland edges, parks and grassy places. North American red-capped material once called Boletus fraternus is listed as a synonym by the U.S. National Fungus Collections, but North American Hortiboletus taxonomy is not settled.

Species profile

Edibility: Not edible
Edibility disputed; not recommended. Some authorities list it as edible, but it is described as soapy-tasting, poor in quality and often maggot-infested, and some sources question its safety. Many small red-capped, blue-staining boletes are hard to tell apart, and red-pored boletes can cause gastrointestinal poisoning.

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Characteristics

Cap: 2-8 cm, convex flattening with age; dry, velvety, sometimes cracking to show yellow flesh; scarlet to dark red when young, fading to olive-red or brick red, often with a yellowish margin. Pores: lemon to olive-yellow, slowly bruising blue; angular, 1-2 per mm. Stem: 4-8 cm long, 4-8 mm thick (First Nature); bright yellow at the apex, redder toward the base; no ring. Flesh: pale yellow, deeper yellow in the stem base, bluing when cut. Spore print: olive to olive-brown. Spores: smooth, subfusiform; 11.5-12.5 x 5-5.5 µm in British material (First Nature) and 12-15 x 4.5-7 µm in North American 'fraternus' material (MIT bolete pages).