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Boletus ornatipes [ Basidiomycetes > Boletales > Boletaceae > Boletus . . . ] by Michael Kuo This striking mushroom is not likely to be mistaken for anything else. Its chrome yellow stem is often so coarsely reticulate that one can imagine bugs and critters finding new homes in the little declivities, and it provides an interesting contrast to its dull brown cap. Whether or not Boletus retipes is an outdated name for this species, or the name of a separate species which is similar (but smaller, and with a powdery yellow cap), is subject to debate. I am treating the two taxa as synonymous. I have eaten Boletus ornatipes and enjoyed it (dried and reconstituted), but evidently bitter tasting collections are frequently made, rendering it unpalatable. Description: Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in eastern North America. Cap: 4-16 cm, convex , becoming broadly convex or nearly flat in age; dry; smooth or felty, sometimes nearly velvety; variable in color, ranging from yellow to pale gray to yellow brown or olive brown; frequently yellow along the margin. Pore Surface: Bright lemon or chrome yellow; bruising brighter yellow or orangish, sometimes brownish; tubes to 15 mm deep. Stem: 8-15 cm long; 1-2.5 cm. thick; more or less equal, sometimes tapered towards the top or (more frequently, in my experience) the bottom; bright yellow; discoloring brownish in age; bruising orangish yellow; solid. Flesh: Yellow (light yellow, becoming golden yellow when cut), not staining blue on exposure. Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste mild or somewhat bitter. Chemical Reactions: Cap surface orange brown with KOH, pale brown with ammonia, negative with iron salts; flesh pale orange-brown with KOH, pale brown with ammonia, and white with iron salts. Spore Print: Olive brown to dark yellow brown. Microscopic Features: Spores 9-13 x 3-4 µ; smooth; oblong. REFERENCES: Peck, 1878. (Coker & Beers, 1943; Singer, 1947; Snell & Dick, 1970; Smith & Thiers, 1971; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Both, 1993; Barron, 1999; Bessette, Roody & Bessette, 2000; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006; Kuo, 2007; Ortiz-Santana et al., 2007.) Herb. Kuo 05300408. According to Smith and Thiers (1971), Boletus ornatipes is closely related to Boletus griseus. When the two mushrooms appear in their "pure" forms, they are clearly distinct and not likely to be mistaken for each other. But, in my experience, forms of both mushrooms can be found approaching each other, and I have found specimens so mixed in their features that I gave up entirely trying to decide which of the two I had found. Further Online Information: Boletus ornatipes in Smith & Thiers, 1971 |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2002, June). Boletus ornatipes. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/boletus_ornatipes.html |