Until 2005 this was the only bolete that has been implicated in the death of someone consuming it; a couple developed gastrointestinal symptoms in 1994 after eating this fungus with the husband succumbing.

In reviewing material they published a new name for the taxon, which Thiers had written about in local guidebooks as B. eastwoodiae, as they felt that name to be invalid.

[4] Colored various shades of olive- to reddish-brown, the cap may sometimes reach 25 centimeters (10 in) in diameter and is convex in shape before flattening at maturity.

[9] Rubroboletus pulcherrimus is found in western North America, from New Mexico and California to Washington, and may feasibly occur in British Columbia, Canada.

[2] Smith and Weber mention increased fruitings after warm heavy fall rains following a humid summer.

[13] Years later, in 1994, a couple developed gastrointestinal symptoms after eating this fungus and the husband died as a result.

Rubroboletus pulcherrimus was the only bolete that had been implicated in the death of someone consuming it,[14] It is known to contain low levels of muscarine, a peripheral nervous system toxin.

[15] A 2005 report from Australia recorded a fatality from muscarinic syndrome after consuming a mushroom from the genus Rubinoboletus (but possibly a species of Chalciporus).