Brown Bolete, Brown Spores, Curly Stalk

[Sunny_0ne]

This one has me stumped. The cap is small, about 2". It has a dark brown spore print, yellow pore surface, and a long, curly stalk. Found in the woods in deciduous leaf litter in NW GA. Note the yellow on the stalk.

[jmw]

Nice photos Sunny, but I have a couple questions with this one. In the photos it kind of seems like the pores are receeding near where the cap and stem meet is that correct? Also, it looks as if the center portion of the stem is hollow. am I seeing that wrong? Could just be staining or even bug damage, but if it is a hollow stem or staining it would be important to and ID. If you have the time an ammonia test would also be useful for this little one.

[Sunny_0ne]

Yes, the pores are kind of receding. It's not a super fresh specimen and it looked like the pore surface had dimpled with age.

I did a drop of ammonia on the cap and noticed no color change. Can't remember what the result was on the stalk. Was pretty tired and I later threw them all in the trash.

No, the stalk is not hollow. It's just an area of darker flesh down the center.

The spore print was a very dark brown, but in areas where it was lighter, there were olive tones.

Don't worry about trying to come up with a perfect ID. If I had more specimens of different ages it would make it easier.

This was just one of those mushrooms that I thought was cool due to the long curly stalk, but a positive ID is not critical.

[jmw]

It is ok I enjoy the puzzle. Sometimes I figure the puzzle out sometimes the puzzle wins, either way I still enjoy it. I had a few possibles earlier and you clarified some issues I had. Will check it out and post what I think it might be if I come up with something.

[jmw]

Take a look at B. curtisii and see what you think. A few issues with this that I cannot confirm or reject based on what I can make out in the photos is flesh color and cap color, but with Boletes looking for a perfect match in cap color is sometimes futile.

It matches B. curtisii in ammonia testing, receeding gills, growing habit, range, season, possibly spore print (another I can't confirm), and general shape/size.

[Sunny_0ne]

No, I don't think it's B. curtisii, jmw. It was in no way slimy. It was soft and dry to the touch. And the spore print was not rusty brown. It was an extremely dark brown. Also, the cap was a true light brown. The yellow was just in a couple of places on the stalk.

The flesh was a light cream color, if I remember correctly. Maybe like a suillus? I looked at several different mushrooms and they are all kind of running together in my mind today.

[jmw]

Well my second thought I did not mention earlier because I do not like it. I gave Planets an ID possibility on a bolete a while back for this same one which Dave seconded me on. Problem is the your specimen and Planets specimen are a bit different. Leccinum subglabripes. Seems to fit your specimen problem is, it fits a lot of specimens. If you read up on it the color variables in cap, stem, pore surface go from yellow, to brown, to red and shades in between with combinations in between. It in theory also looks different depending on the part of its' range where it was found. This is pretty much the last guess I have though. You can read up on it on Kuo's site.

"Anyone who has spent much time trying to identify eastern North American boletes knows that the name "Boletus subglabripes"
(Leccinum subglabripes) is a potential identification dumping ground; it can often be used as a
replacement for "I'm not spending any more time with this mushroom," or
"close enough" . . . even by professional mycologists. There are over
200 collections labeled Boletus or Leccinum subglabripes in online herbaria, but I doubt they are all identified correctly." (Kuo)

Now that quote is a real confidence booster for this species isn't it.

Maybe somebody here will come up with something.

[Dave W]

"NA Boletes" guide mentions that the southern NA subglabripes type has "a richer yellow and sometimes stouter stipe" than the northern form, which I am familiar with. I don't see the characteristic reddish flush/dots on the stalk surface. But this may be ona ccount of glare. Also, looks to be a bit long-in-the-tubes for subglabripes. But honestly, there's nothing here that decisively weighs against subglabripes.

Except for the cap surface seeming to lack a tomentose/velvety appearance, I would also consider Boletus subtomentosus.

A bolete like this one, which seems to lack in any specific highly distinctive character, can be difficult to ID to species. IMO both subglabripes and subtomentosus are reasonable guesses.

[Sunny_0ne]

Thanks, Dave.

[Dave W]

You're welcome Sunny.

This one also reminds me of Boletus longicurvipes... except the cap surface appears to lack the slimy/sticky/shiny finish that is a strong character for this type.

[Scott C]

B. Hortonii?

[Dave W]

Boletus hortonii has a disctinctly wrinkled cap surface. You can't miss this trait! Other wise, this species is similar to B. subglabripes.

Boletus hortonii

[Sunny_0ne]

Found a whole bunch of these yesterday afternoon. They have the speckled stalk and a definitely yellow cap. Dark brown spore print. (I am beginning to wonder if I have become a bit color blind as I am getting some strange color spore prints lately!)

I added this photos of the slug eaten pore surface just to show the color of the cap flesh.

[jmw]

try Suilus decipiens. Might be right depending on a few details.

[Sunny_0ne]

Nope. Not a bit of pink or orange on the cap. It's a pure, soft, butter yellow in all the stages I've seen. I thought maybe chicken fat suillus, but the cap feels more like kidskin. It's not at all slimy on any of them that I've seen.

Actually I feel bad even posting when my books are still out in the camper. Will do my own research before posting any more pictures... I promise!

[Scott C]

Thanks Dave, I am just learning my boletes this year with the exception of old man of the woods which I have eaten for about 8 years. With the addition of Hortonii and I forgot the shot gun top, lilac, chestnut T. alboater, T. badiceps and it's close cousin I am up to 23 edibles from17 over the years I can eat with confidence.

[Scott C]

Sunny_one, anymore a book is outdated as soon as it goes to print with the rapid reclassification of ALL fungi it seems.

[Sunny_0ne]

Sunny_one, anymore a book is outdated as soon as it goes to print with the rapid reclassification of ALL fungi it seems.

I know. It makes my head spin. But at least if I can find out what it USED to be called, I stand a better chance of tracking down the new name.

I started out just wanting to know if a mushroom was edible or not. Then it became important to me to learn the names of mushrooms I find. Now some of the names have already changed a couple of times.

Sometimes I think I would be happy just knowing the old names. I'm not in it for the science.... just to learn a little more about these intriguing little life forms for my own enjoyment.

[jmw]

Yeah decipiens looks a lot like Chicken Fat suillus to me minus the slime and also around here they are normally larger. Both suillus seem to lose some of the scaly color on the cap as they mature. At least that is my experience locally. I find both of them all time. In fact they are impossible to avoid right now as they are growing everywhere at the moment. By the way I am not allergic to the chicken fat slime but I have no desire to touch them anymore. Decipiens was my first though on seeing the photos, but I am not surprised it was wrong.

[Dave W]

The Suillus under consideration has a stalk with prominent glandular dots. According to the NA Bolete Book, this eliminates S. decipiens. Also, S. decipiens has a partial veil which leaves a ring zone on the stalk. The manual lists S. hirtellus as similar to S. decipiens, but without veil and with glandular dots. Range of S. hirtellus is Canada south to Florida. It associates with pine, spruce, and balsam fir. Also, I think we should not rule out S. americanus. Slimy-capped mushrooms may exhibit differences during dry weather. S. americanus has a partial veil, but it does not leave a ring/zone on the stalk.

Suillus species can be difficult to get to species.

IMO, using the old species names is okay. When I offer suggestions, I often try to include old as well as new names, to avoid confusion.

[Sunny_0ne]

Dave, I just looked at Kuo's descriptions of the ones you suggested.

Here's an interesting quote from his site where he is discussing cap color and the differences between Suillus sibiricus and S. americanus:

However, Smith, Thiers & Miller (1965) discovered that

• depending on the amount of sunlight and the precipitation the color
  of individual fruiting bodies varied from one weather period to the next
  (even in a single day). During sunny weather the colors were bright
  yellow as in S. americanus . . . During rainy weather the colors
  became dilute . . . when the weather cleared and the sun came out, the
  color of the caps again became bright yellow.

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/suillus_sibiricus.html

My photos were taken in cloudy weather in deep shade. So for now, I'm going to call it an S. americanus.

Thanks, as always, Dave!