Boletus pulcherrimus [Thiers & Halling]

The group of reticulated, red sponged, and bluing Boletes form Section Luridi.  These are some of the most gorgeous representative of the genus, featuring vivid red sponge and a reticulated stipe. The members of this group pass loosely as Satan's Boletes, although that there are about a dozen species in there. This California taxon was involved in a little taxonomic mess involving the name B. eastwoodiae, but a 1976 paper by Thiers&Halling erected the current name and straightened things out.  This species by definition is confined to the Coastal areas. A somewhat similar Bolete, called B. haematinus fruits high in the Sierra Nevada.