Tylopilus violatinctus (“Violet Bitter Bolete”)

Bitter white cap flesh. Violet cap skin ages through pink to tan, bruising violet. Pinkish, yellow-staining stem browns w/age, apex staying white. Often buggy.

SKU: Tylopilus violatinctus Categories: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Description

Genus: Tylopilus

Species: violatinctus

Common Name: “Violet Bitter Bolete”

Tells: Bitter white cap flesh. Violet cap skin ages through pink to tan, bruising violet. Pinkish, yellow-staining stem browns w/age, apex staying white. Often buggy.

Other Information: White pores age through pink & then flesh colors, ending a deep cocoa brown. Pores typically DNS, but may turn brownish-olive. Cap flesh DNS, or slowly turns a slate color. T. plumbeoviolaceus has a deeper purple stem, a cap that does not bruise, and is notoriously bug resistant.

Edibility: Too bitter to eat but useful for unique approaches like cocktail bitters. It isn’t toxic; just absurdly bitter.

CHEMICAL TESTS:

  • NH4OH (Ammonia): Cap surface turns yellow to yellow-brown. Cap flesh does not react.
  • KOH: Cap surface turns pale, dingy yellow to dull amber. Cap flesh does not react.
  • FeSO4 (Iron Salts): Cap surface has no reaction or turns faint olive. Cap flesh does not react.

Links:

National Audubon Society Field guide to Mushrooms, Gary Lincoff  0 Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians 341 North American Boletes 274 BENA 402

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