Distribution: Widespread but not abundant.

Habitat: P. porphyrosporus occurs in coastal and low elevation conifer forests.

Conservation Status: Not of concern

dark bolete, dusky bolete

Porphyrellus porphyrosporus is easy to recognize, but harder to name. The combination of a black to dark brown velvety cap, often with a paler margin, dark brown to black tubes and pores, dark brown to almost black stipe with a white base, and blue to blue-green staining reaction separate it easily from other boletes in our region. It has deep reddish brown spores which also is helpful in identification. In western North America it also has been called Tylopilus pseudoscaber and elsewhere has gone by Porphyrellus pseudoscaber. Recent studies have shown that tylopiluses are not its closest relatives. Although a few species of Tylopilus have been reported from California, they are uncommon there and rare at most in the PNW.