''Suillus tomentosus'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

. The

common names In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

of the species are blue-staining slippery Jack, poor man's slippery Jack, and woolly-capped suillus.

Description

The

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

is wide, pale to orange-yellow with grayish brownish or reddish

tomentum Tomentum may refer to: * Plant trichomes, a covering of closely matted or fine hairs on plant leaves. * Tomentum (anatomy), short, soft pubescence or a covering of fine, soft hairs. {{disambig ...

, and viscid while fresh. The fibrillose-scaly surface of the cap helps distinguish it from other species in the genus. The tubes are yellow and become blue when bruised. The stipe is tall and 1–3 cm wide, grandular dotted and the color is similar to the cap. The cap is scaly and has fibrillose. The

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, ...

are brownish when they are young. 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 dark olive brown to brown. The species stains fingers blue. It has no

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

. The yellow interior of the mushroom should slowly turn green-blue when cut with a knife.

Edibility

The mushroom may be edible to some while others may find its taste acidic even after cooking. The species has been known to cause gastric upset in some people. The author

David Arora David Arora (born October 23, 1952)Barnard J. 1993. "Self-taught mushroom maven travels world for fungi". ''Associated Press'' December 31, 1993. Accessed 2008-01-20, via LexisNexis Academic. is an American mycologist, naturalist, and writer. He ...

said the species tastes the same as '' Suillus fuscotomentosus''. Arora also said that on a blandness scale, this mushroom ranks at the bottom. Arora reports that one collector stated the mushroom smells and tastes like

Tootsie Rolls Tootsie Roll is a chocolate-flavored taffy that has been manufactured in the United States since 1907. The candy has qualities similar to both caramels and taffy without being exactly either confection. The manufacturer, Tootsie Roll Ind ...

when dried. The species have also been said to smell like almonds. When they look for this species, consumers are advised to be careful to distinguish it from other species that stain blue but are poisonous.

Similar species

Similar species include ''S. fuscotomentosus'', ''S. reticulatus'', ''S. variegatus'', and '' Boletus subtomentosus''.

Habitat

The species is commonly found in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

and the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

. It is less common in the lake states. The species fruits in the summer in the

. Also, the species fruits in autumn along the Pacific coast and in the lake states. The species is by itself or scattered in

mixed forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These fo ...

. The species can commonly be found under

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...

s or other two-needle pines. It is rarely found under

jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...

s. ''Suillus tomentosus'' forms tuberculate ectomycorrhizae (mycorrhizae that are nodular) with

(''Pinus contorta'' var. ''latifolia''). Recent work has shown that acetylene is reduced by the nodules which means that

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

is being fixed by bacteria within the nodules. This system is functionally similar to the root nodules in legumes like

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

. Lodgepole pine can be found growing on gravel pits or other extremely nitrogen deficient soils. Lodgepole pine with its ''S. tomentosus'' symbiont is one of the most common pioneer species in northern forests. It colonizes highly disturbed soils and creates an environment suitable for other species to colonize.

References

External links