Marginal cystidia: cylindrical to lance-shaped and up to 100 × 15 µm.
Facial cystidia: similar to marginal cystidia.
Habitat & Distribution: Found in pine woods, usually solitary or in small groups. Fairly common throughout the British Isles and characteristic of Scots Pine woods.
General Information: This fungus can be distinguished by the purplish or wine-coloured cap and the gills being pigmented from youth. There is only one other British species of this genus, i.e. C. corallinus Miller & Watling.
Chroogomphus is separated from Gomphidius by the flesh having an intense blue-black reaction when placed in solutions containing iodine, and the gills being coloured from their youth. In many books Chroogomphus is placed in synonymy with the genus Gomphidius. However, Gomphidius glutinosus (Fries) Fries, G. roseus (Fries) Karsten and G. maculatus Fries all have whitish gills when immature which gradually darken, and their flesh simply turns orange-brown in solutions of iodine. G. glutinosus is uniformly grey in colour and is most frequently found under spruce and other introduced conifers: G. roseus has a pale-pinkish coloured cap and white stem, and grows with pine; G. maculatus grows under larch and is flushed lilaceous at first but becomes strongly spotted with brown when handled.
Illustrations: Hvass 192; LH 213; WD 833.
Plate 4. Fleshy fungi: Spores blackish and borne on gills
![[Larger illustration]](#467779198995390083_illo037lg.png.id-1574208277286492342.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}