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Gyroporus purpurinus

by Michael Kuo, 9 June 2026

This is one of those mushrooms I'm always eager to find, but only rarely encounter. I don't know how many times I have excitedly stooped down to pick it, only to discover that I am looking at one of several purplish Tylopilus species. But unlike Tylopilus species, Gyroporus purpurinus has yellowish spores, and therefore has a pore surface that eventually becomes pale yellow—while Tylopilus pore surfaces are typically pinkish by maturity.

Other than its color, not a lot separates Gyroporus purpurinus from Gyroporus borealis and Gyroporus smithii, which are similar in stature but are (usually) brown and brownish orange, respectively. I think all three of these "species" should be treated as Gyroporus castaneus. See the page for Gyroporus for a thorough discussion.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with oaks and other hardwoods, growing alone, scattered, or gregariously on the ground, especially in disturbed-ground locations like path sides, embankments, and so on; summer and fall; originally described from New York (Snell 1936); fairly widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains, and reported in Mexico. The illustrated and described collections are from Illinois.

Cap: 1.5–5 cm; convex, becoming broadly convex or nearly flat in age; dry; bald or slightly velvety; sometimes becoming somewhat wrinkled, or slightly cracked in age (like me, according to my friends); purplish red to purplish pink.

Pore Surface: Whitish at first, becoming pale yellow; not bruising, or bruising slowly brownish; 1–2 circular to angular pores per mm; tubes to 5 mm deep.

Stem: 3–5 cm long; 0.5–1 cm thick; more or less equal; dry; brittle; hollowing; colored like the cap; not bruising; not reticulate; basal mycelium white to pale yellowish.

Flesh: White; not staining on exposure.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: Ammonia negative on cap surface and flesh. KOH negative on cap surface; negative to yellowish on flesh. Iron salts negative on cap surface and flesh.

Spore Print: Yellow.

Microscopic Features: Spores 8–11 x 5–6 µm; ellipsoid; smooth; hyaline in KOH. Basidia 22–25 x 9–13 µm; clavate; 4-sterigmate. Hymenial cystidia 25–45 x 3–6 µm; fusiform to narrowly lageniform, sometimes with a long neck; smooth; thin-walled; hyaline in KOH. Pileipellis a trichoderm; elements 6–15 µm wide, smooth, septate, hyaline in KOH; terminal cells fusiform to lageniform; subterminal cells not swollen.

REFERENCES: R. Singer, 1945 ex N. Davoodian & R. E. Halling, 2013. (Singer, 1945; Snell & Dick, 1970; Smith & Thiers, 1971; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Both, 1993; Horn, Kay & Abel, 1993; Bessette, Roody & Bessette, 2000; Wilson et al., 2012; Davoodian & Halling, 2013; Kuo & Methven, 2014; Bessette, Roody & Bessette, 2016; Sturgeon, 2018; Davoodian et al., 2018; Davoodian et al., 2020.) Herb. Kuo 06289504, 09289620, 07230306, 06300709, 07050802, 07120810.

This website contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.

Ammonia, KOH, iron salts

Spore print

Spores

Pileipellis

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2013, December). Gyroporus purpurinus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/gyroporus_purpurinus.html