''Boletus vermiculosus'' is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. Found in North America, it was described as new to science in 1872 by mycologist

Charles Horton Peck Charles Horton Peck (March 30, 1833 – July 11, 1917) was an American mycologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the New York State Botanist from 1867 to 1915, a period in which he described over 2,700 species of North American fun ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described scientifically by American mycologist

in 1872. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''vermiculosus'' means "infested with vermin", referring to its frequent infestation by insect larvae.

Description

The cap is convex to plano-convex, measuring in diameter. The cap surface is dry,

tomentose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

, or even somewhat felt-like, and the colour is brownish to yellowish-brown. The flesh turns bluish-green when injured. It has a mild odor and taste. On the cap underside are dark brown to maroon pores that age to brownish yellow. The stipe measures long by thick and is either roughly equal in width throughout its length, or somewhat club-shaped. The

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

is olive brown.

Spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

are smooth, fusoid (fuse-shaped), inamyloid, and measure 12.6–14

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

long by 4.9–5.6 μm broad. Clamp connections are absent from the hyphae.

Similar species

Boletus vermiculosoides ''Boletus vermiculosoides'' is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. Found in North America, it was described as new to science in 1971 by mycologists Alexander H. Smith and Harry Delbert Thiers. The type collection was made by S ...

'', a lookalike species named for its resemblance to ''B. vermiculosus'', has smaller spores measuring 9–12 by 3–4 μm, and has yellow tones in the cap.

Habitat and distribution

''Boletus vermiculosus'' fruits on the ground in association with

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

trees. Its distribution extends from the eastern United States south to Costa Rica. In the

Talamanca Mountains The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...

of Costa Rica, where it can be locally common, it associates with '' Quercus copyensis'', ''

Quercus seemannii ''Quercus seemannii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fagaceae, native from southeastern Mexico to Central America. It was first described by Frederik Liebmann in 1854. It is placed in section ''Lobatae''. Distribution ''Quercus ...

'', and ''

Quercus rapurahuensis ''Quercus benthamii'' is a species of oak in the family Fagaceae. It is native to cloud forests of Central America and southern Mexico. It is threatened by habitat loss. Description ''Quercus benthamii'' is typically large evergreen tree. Mature ...

''.

References

External links