Violet Grey Bolete

Description:

One of the more beautiful species of boletes. Definately the most purple in color. Cap: 4-15 cm; convex, becoming broadly convex or nearly flat in age; dry; smooth or finely velvety when young; sometimes dusted with whitish powder; dark purple or purple-brown when young, becoming brown, purplish gray, brown, cinnamon, or tan. Pore Surface: Whitish becoming pinkish; not bruising; pores circular, 1-2 per mm; tubes to 2 cm deep. Stem: 8-12 cm long; 1-2 cm thick; more or less equal, or enlarging towards base; purple when young, sometimes somewhat mottled with whitish areas, fading to purplish gray or purplish brown (but hints of purple usually remaining as the mushroom develops); sometimes bruising or staining olive; smooth, or sometimes very finely reticulate near the apex. Flesh: White; unchanging when sliced. Odor and Taste: Taste very bitter; odor not distinctive. Spore Print: Pinkish brown.

Habitat:

Mycorrhizal with hardwoods (especially oaks); growing scattered or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains