Rubroboletus pulcherrimus

American mycologists Harry D. Thiers and Roy E. Halling were aware of confusion on the west coast of North America over red-pored boletes; two species were traditionally recognised— Boletus satanas and B. eastwoodiae. However, they strongly suspected the type specimen of the latter species was in fact the former. In reviewing material they published a new name for the taxon, which Thiers had written about in local guidebooks as B. eastwoodiae, as they felt that name to be invalid. Hence in 1976 they formally described Boletus pulcherrimus, It was transferred to the genus Rubroboletus in 2015 along with several other allied reddish colored, blue-staining bolete species such as Rubroboletus eastwoodiae and Rubroboletus satanas. ==Description==

Colored various shades of olive- to reddish-brown, the cap may sometimes reach in diameter and is convex in shape before flattening at maturity. The cap surface may be smooth or velvety when young, but may be scaled in older specimens; the margin of the cap is curved inwards in young specimens but rolls out and flattens as it matures. The cap may reach a thickness of when mature. In cross section, the tubes and flesh are yellow. The tubes are between long, while the angular pores are up to 1 mm in diameter; pores can range in color from dark red in young specimens to reddish brown in age. The pores will stain a blue color when cut or bruised. Its darker cap and lack of reticulation on the stipe differentiate it from R. satanas. ==Distribution and habitat==

Rubroboletus pulcherrimus is found in western North America, from New Mexico and California to Washington, and may feasibly occur in British Columbia, Canada. One source notes it grows at low altitudes in the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains; Fruiting in autumn, it grows singly or in groups (although another source claims "never in groups") in humus in mixed woodlands. In the original publication describing the species, Thiers and Halling note that it is associated with forests containing tanbark oaks (Lithocarpus densiflora), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and grand fir (Abies grandis). ==Toxicity==

In general, blue-staining red-pored boletes should be avoided for consumption. In 1994, a couple developed gastrointestinal symptoms after eating this fungus and the husband died as a result. A subsequent autopsy revealed that the man had suffered an infarction of the midgut. Rubroboletus pulcherrimus was the only bolete that had been implicated in the death of someone consuming it. It is known to contain low levels of muscarine, a peripheral nervous system toxin. A 2005 report from Australia recorded a fatality from muscarinic syndrome after consuming a mushroom from the genus Rubinoboletus (but possibly a species of Chalciporus). ==See also==