Rheubarbariboletus persicolor (= Xerocomus persicolor) is one amongst many species of mushrooms in the Boletaceae family with reddish hues that are indistinctly known in Catalan as mataparents (= relatives’ killer) and that can be found in the district of Bages.
Rheubarbariboletus persicolor is a small and slender mushroom when compared to close species. The cap grows from convex to flat of about 6–8 cm in diameter. It is covered by a dry, crackable, peach-coloured cuticle with a more or less obvious maroon granulation. The tubes and the stipe are bright yellow coloured but quickly turn blue when touched. The stipe with a rooting foot reaches 6–7 cm. If cut, the mushroom displays its 8–10 mm length tubes of a brighter yellow than that of the flesh. However, in contact with air, both the tubes and the flesh of the cap quickly turn blue while the flesh of the lower half of the stipe remains pale yellow.
Rheubarbariboletus persicolor appears in autumn in Aleppo pine forests and holm oak forests on calcareous soil.
[photo Florenci Vallès]