Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus

[ Basidiomycetes > Boletales > Boletaceae > Tylopilus . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

When fresh and young, Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus is one of the more beautiful eastern boletes. It is mycorrhizal with hardwoods, and widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico. The purplish brown to dark brown cap and the purplish stem, combined with the extremely bitter taste, are distinctive. Tylopilus violatinctus is similar but paler; see the comments below for help separating these species.

One summer when I was in graduate school, Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus appeared in stunning numbers, along with many other mushrooms. My friend and I made a movie, Mr. Puffball, in which a softball-sized puffball with a slit for a mouth was held puppet-like by Beth, who narrated in her best Mr. Puffball voice as we toured the mushrooms of Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus was one of Mr. Puffball's favorites, and I would offer you a clip from the epic movie if my roommate had not taped an LA Law rerun over what might otherwise have been an Oscar winning documentary.

Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus is too bitter to consider for the table.

Description:

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

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.

Chemical Reactions: KOH orange to yellowish on cap; negative on flesh; yellowish on stem. Ammonia brownish yellow on cap; negative on flesh; pale yellow on stem. Iron salts brownish yellow on cap; yellowish to pinkish on flesh; negative on stem.

Spore Print: Pinkish brown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 10-13 x 3-4 µ; elliptical; smooth.

REFERENCES: Snell & Dick, 1941. (Snell & Dick, 1970; Smith & Thiers, 1971; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Weber & Smith, 1985; Phillips, 1991/2005; Both, 1993; Bessette, Roody & Bessette, 2000; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006.)

Tylopilus violatinctus has a paler, lilac cap that develops rusty purple stains and discolorations along the margin. Its spores measure 7-10 x 3-4 µ. It is recorded from New York to Mississippi, under hardwoods and conifers. The mushroom represented in Lincoff (1992) as Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus appears to be what is now called Tylopilus violatinctus, which was not described until 1998.

Further Online information:

Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus in Smith & Thiers, 1971

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, July). Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/tylopilus_plumbeoviolaceus.html