October 2008

This year’s issue on Micology features two stamps devoted to the Boletus regius and the Lepista nuda.

BOLETUS
REGIUS

The Boletus regius is a beautiful robust bolete, its name meaning Royal bolete.

It has a rose-pink cap measuring 6 to 15 cm broad, strongly convex, expanding to plano-convex; margin incurved, becoming decurved to plane in age. Tubes are a deep yellow, turning greenish with time.

The stipe is robust, firm and short widening at the base. It is solid and fleshy with a lemon-yellow cortex and reticulation.

It is not very abundant and grows in autumn in beech, oak, helm-oak and chestnut forests when rains have been abundant. It is edible and of good quality and often confused with other boletus of similar colour specially the boletus speciosus.

LEPISTA NUDA

The Lepista nuda is commonly known as “blewit” because of its colouring. The convex cap is bluish-purplish in colour with grey or brown undertones and can reach up to 15cm broad. Gills have a purplish tone and are attached to the short, stout stem which has a light purple-blue colour. Mature specimens have a darker colour and flatter cap; younger ones are lighter with more convex caps

It is an edible mushroom, found in both coniferous and deciduous woodlands. It is especially common where there is a large amount of duff built up on the forest floor. It is a fairly distinctive mushroom, widely eaten, though with a strong taste. It can be confused with the lepista sordida, which is has a darker lilac colour, thinner and with a milder odour and with the lilac coloured cortinarius violaceus.