Boletus calopus

Boletus calopus is a fungus of the bolete family, found in Northern Europe. 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.

Though an attractive bolete, it has a very bitter taste and is not considered edible.

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Description

Up to 12 cm wide, the cap is beige to olive with yellow gills and an attractive stalk, yellow above to pink-red below. The pale yellow flesh stains blue when broken. Spores are olive to olive-brown. The smell can be strong.

Distribution and habitat

It grows in deciduous woodland, especially under beech and oak, on chalky ground from July to December, in Northern Europe and North America's Pacific Northwest and Michigan^[1], though the latter appears to be a different subspecies if not a separate species.

Toxicity

One Russian author has listed Boletus calopus as edible (Vasil’eva, 1978), yet it is regarded by most as at least inedible due to the taste, or even mildly poisonous. The bitter taste does not disappear upon cooking.^[2]

References

• Nilsson, S. & Persson, O. (1977) Fungi of Northern Europe 1: Larger Fungi (Excluding Gill Fungi). Penguin Books. isbn 0-14-063-005-8