''Tylopilus bulbosus'' is a bolete fungus of the genus '' Tylopilus''. Described as new to science in 2001 by mycologists Roy Halling and Greg Mueller, it is found in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, where it grows on the ground in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s dominated by the

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 ...

species ''

Quercus copeyensis ''Quercus copeyensis'' is a species of oak endemic to the Talamancan montane forests of Costa Rica and Panama. It is commonly called Panamanian oak. ''Quercus copeyensis'' is a large deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the ...

'', '' Q. oocarpa'', and '' Q. seemannii''. The fungus produces

fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

with convex to flattened caps measuring in diameter. Its color is initially violet to purplish brown, and eventually fades to brown. The pore surface is initially pale pinkish purple to grayish red, and bruises brown where it has been handled. The white flesh stains pinkish brown where it has been exposed. Spores are more or less spindle shaped (subfusoid), smooth, and measure 10–14 by 4.2–5.6

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 ...

; the fresh

spore deposit 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 pinkish. Morphologically similar '' Tylopilus'' species include the eastern North American '' T. rubrobrunneus'' and the North and Central American '' T. williamsii''.

References

External links

* bulbosus Fungi described in 2001 Fungi of Central America Fungus species Taxa named by Roy Halling {{Boletales-stub