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Beautiful-legged boletus (lat. Caloboletus calopus or Boletus calopus), also beautiful or inedible boletus – a fairly common mushroom, which is distinguished by a bright color of the leg. As the name of the species suggests, fruiting bodies cannot be eaten.
What beautiful-legged bolets look like
The hat of the beautiful-legged bolet can grow up to 6-14 cm in diameter, while it looks completely inconspicuous, which contrasts strongly with the bright stem of the mushroom. Its color varies from greyish-olive shades to light brown. To the touch, the hat is smooth, but matte and dry. In young specimens, it has the shape of a hemisphere, however, in mature bolts, it opens and becomes convex. The edges of the cap, as the fruiting body grows, are wrapped downwards.
The hymenophore of the beautiful-legged boletus is light yellow at the first stage of development, then it acquires an ocher color.
On the cut, this species turns blue within 5-8 minutes.
The spores of the fungus are brownish-olive.
The stem of the boletus is barrel-shaped in young mushrooms. At the next stage of development, it becomes club-shaped, and in mature specimens it acquires a cylindrical appearance. The height of the stem is on average 5-15 cm, the diameter is 2-5 cm. Under the very cap, it is whitish-yellow, but this color quickly turns into rich red. Mature bolets have a brownish stalk at the bottom.
The pulp of the fruiting bodies is quite dense, even hard. It is painted in cream shades and does not have a pronounced smell.
Where do beautiful-legged bolets grow?
The area of distribution of the beautiful-legged boletus includes coniferous forests of mountainous regions. Most often, small groups of mushrooms can be found next to spruce trees. Solitary occasionally found in deciduous and mixed forests.
The preferred type of soil is sandy with a high level of acidity. On the territory of Our Country, the beautiful-legged pain grows in the southern latitudes.
Is it possible to eat beautiful-legged bolets
The beautiful-legged boletus is an inedible mushroom, however, the reasons for this definition can vary greatly in the reference literature. Some authors note that its pulp does not contain toxic substances, but it is impossible to eat bolete because of its strong bitterness. A sharp unpleasant aftertaste does not disappear even after 10 hours of soaking or frying.
Other sources state that the beautiful-legged pain is poisonous. The toxic components in its pulp can cause severe intestinal upset, convulsions, and even loss of consciousness. After some time, the victim begins cirrhosis of the liver.
Sometimes on the lower part of the leg (near the ground) there are white stains
Eating even a small piece of this species can be fatal.
They are distinguished mainly by spores – in the satanic mushroom they are saturated red.
Symptoms of poisoning
The first signs of poisoning begin to appear within 2-3 hours after eating the fruiting bodies. Typical symptoms include the following changes:
- causeless weakness, trembling in the hands;
- dizziness;
- nausea, vomiting;
- diarrhea (sometimes with blood);
- Strong headache;
- convulsions;
- muscle pain.
If a large amount of toxic substances enters the body, it can lead to loss of consciousness.
First aid for poisoning
Prior to the arrival of doctors, first aid is provided through gastric lavage. For these purposes, 2-3 activated charcoal tablets or a small amount of Enterosgel are used, the dosage of which is calculated taking into account the person’s weight.
It is also necessary to artificially induce vomiting in the victim – for this he is given a glass of soda solution diluted in a ratio of 1 tsp to drink. for 0,5 liters of water.
Conclusion
Despite its attractive appearance, it is impossible to collect the beautiful-legged boletus – the mushroom is one of the inedible and even poisonous, according to some sources. Opinions on the toxicity of this bolete are different for different authors, however, everyone notes a strong bitterness in the pulp of the fruiting bodies. It is impossible to get rid of it even after prolonged soaking and heat treatment.
The danger of the beautiful-legged pain also lies in the fact that an inexperienced mushroom picker can confuse some edible varieties with it. At the slightest suspicion that the find is a poisonous mushroom, it should be left alone.
You can learn more about what a beautiful-legged bolet looks like from the video below:
