Suillus lakei

Description
Mushroom Identification
Look-Alikes
Synonyms

Description

Suillus lakei is recognized by a reddish-brown, dry, fibrillose-scaly cap, pores that bruise brown, and a stipe base that turns blue when cut. Although the dry cap is somewhat atypical for a Suillus, it should be noted that old specimens of S. lakei may become viscid in moist weather, especially if the scales have weathered away. Suillus lakei var. pseudopictus occurs in Mendocino county and tends to have a darker, more fibrillose cap.

Edible, but with a slimy reputation as with most mushrooms of this genus. Only fresh young specimens should be collected if at all. This is one of the few Suillus not associated with Pines. It can usually be found in great abundance. Most of the time riddled with bugs. To prepare for the table remove the sponge layer and skin.

Common names: Western Painted Suillus, Lake's Bolete, Matte Jack, Lake'S Slipperycap.

Mushroom Identification

Ecology

Mycorrhizal with Douglas-fir, more or less wherever it occurs; growing alone or gregariously; late summer and fall in the Rocky Mountains, fall and winter on the west coast.
Cap

5-15 cm; convex, becoming flat or with a shallow central depression; covered with dull reddish-brown scruffies; base color yellowish to tan; whitish partial veil tissue sometimes hanging from the margin; dry or slimy; fading with age.
Pore Surface

Covered with a whitish to dull reddish partial veil when young; yellowish, sometimes darkening with age; bruising brown to reddish-brown; pores angular, 1-3 mm wide, sometimes radially arranged; tubes to 1 cm deep.
Stem

3-8 cm long; 1-3 cm thick; equal; without glandular dots, but streaked reddish below the ring; yellow above the ring, which is whitish to yellowish or reddish.
Flesh

Yellowish throughout, sometimes staining pinkish; usually bluish or green in the stem base when exposed.
Odor and Taste

Not distinctive.
Chemical Reactions

Ammonia gray on cap surface. KOH black on cap surface. Iron salts gray on cap surface.
Spore Print

Cinnamon or brown.
Microscopic Features

Spores 7-11 x 3-4 µ; subfusoid; smooth.

Look-Alikes

Boletinus cavipes

Has hollow stipe and unchanging flesh and grows under larch (Larix).
Suillus spraguei

Grows in association with Eastern White Pine. The cap of S. spraguei has red fibrils on a yellow background.
Suillus cavipes and Suillus ochraceoroseus

Always grow with Larch. S. ponderosus, which grows in mixed coniferous forests, has a gelatinous veil.
Suillus caerulescens

Is a similar species in western North America; it can be distinguished by the strong blue staining that develops when the stem is injured.