Satan's bolete
Rubroboletus satanas · Boletes (Boletaceae)
Poisonous
Poisonous. Causes violent gastrointestinal poisoning, raw or cooked.
Recognise it safely – what matters
- Pale, chalky grey cap – from above like a porcini
- Red pores and red, netted stem
- Chalky soil, warm broadleaf forests
Features
- Cap
- 8–25 cm, whitish to olive grey, as if dusted with chalk.
- Underside
- Pores: blood red to orange-red.
- Stem
- Thick, bulbous; yellow at the top, red further down with a red network.
- Flesh
- Yellowish, only weakly blues when cut.
- Smell
- Unpleasant, carrion-like when older.
- Spore print
- Olive brown
Season
JFMAMJJASOND
Habitat
Warm broadleaf forests on chalky soil, under beech and oak. Rare and protected in many regions.
Beech, Oak
Risk of confusion
Lurid Bolete Edible species The lurid bolete also has red pores, but an olive to leather-brown cap, and it blues strongly as soon as it is cut.
Porcini Mushroom Edible species Only similar from above: porcini have white to olive-yellow tubes, never red ones.
If someone has eaten it
Violent vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps; in children and older people the loss of fluids can become dangerous. First symptoms: usually 1–4 hours after eating.
Act immediately – even without symptoms:
- Emergency number 112 if someone feels unwell.
- Poison centre: Germany – area code of the nearest city with a poison centre + 19240 (e.g. Berlin 030 19240, Munich 089 19240) · Austria +43 1 406 43 43 · Switzerland 145.
- Keep leftovers, trimmings or vomit – it helps with identification.
Never identify mushrooms by pictures or an app alone. When in doubt, ask a mushroom expert – and only pick what you know for sure.