Chalciporus piperatus, commonly known as the Peppery bolete, is a small pored mushroom of the Boletaceae

Boletaceae

Boletaceae are a family of mushrooms, primarily characterized by developing their spores in small pores on the underside of the mushroom, instead of gills, as are found in agarics. Nearly as widely distributed as agarics, they include the Cep or King Bolete , much sought after by mushroom hunters...

 family found in mixed woodland in Europe.

Edible but very peppery, Antonio Carluccio

Antonio Carluccio

Antonio Carluccio, OBE OMRI is an Italian chef, restaurateur and food expert, based in London.-Biography:Antonio Carluccio was born in Vietri sul Mare, Salerno, Italy. His father was a stationmaster, and he moved with his father's job when he was young and grew up in Piedmont...

 recommends only using it to add a peppery flavour to other mushrooms. It has been used as a peppery condiment in many countries.

Description

One of the smaller boletes, the cap

Pileus (mycology)

The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...

 is 3–6 cm across and orange-fawn coloured. The pores are orange and the flesh lemon-yellow. The spore print

Spore print

thumb|300px|right|Making a spore print of the mushroom Volvariella volvacea shown in composite: mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print...

 is cinnamon.

Distribution and habitat

Found naturally in coniferous and beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

 and oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 woodland in Europe in autumn, Chalciporus piperatus has also been able to spread into native forest in northeastern Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, having been found growing with the native Myrtle beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii).