Tylopilus felleus

[ Basidiomycetes > Boletales > Boletaceae > Tylopilus . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This impressive mushroom is frequently encountered by mushroomers hunting Boletus edulis, who see it as a bitter disappointment. While it is bitter, I see no reason to be disappointed in finding such an attractive mushroom--even if you can't eat it.

Tylopilus felleus is distinguished from most other boletes by its substantial and reticulate stem, its extremely bitter taste, and its flesh-colored pore surface. It is widely distributed and common east of the Rocky Mountains; look for it under conifers or in mixed woods.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with conifers and, occasionally, with hardwoods; growing alone or scattered; summer and fall; widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains.

Cap: 5-30 cm; convex to broadly convex or nearly flat in age; dry; smooth, unpolished; sometimes becoming cracked; brown to tan, usually with cinnamon shades, becoming paler in age.

Pore Surface: Whitish becoming pinkish to flesh-colored; sometimes bruising brownish; pores circular, 1-2 per mm; tubes to 2 cm.

Stem: 4-20 cm long; 1-3 cm thick; club-shaped and bulbous; pale above, colored like the cap downward--or brown overall; strongly reticulate, at least over upper third; sometimes with olive stains in age.

Flesh: Thick and white; unchanging or staining pinkish.

Odor and Taste: Taste very bitter; odor not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: Cap surface orange to reddish orange with KOH or ammonia, olive with iron salts; flesh greenish yellow with KOH, pale yellow (with a bluish zone) with ammonia; grayish green with iron salts.

Spore Print: Flesh colored to pinkish.

Microscopic Features: Spores 11-17 x 3-5 µ; spindle-shaped to elliptical; smooth.

REFERENCES: (Bulliard, 1887) Karsten, 1881. (Fries, 1821; Saccardo, 1888; Coker & Beers, 1943; Snell & Dick, 1970; Smith & Thiers, 1971; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Both, 1993; Barron, 1999; Bessette, Roody & Bessette, 2000; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 08029504, 09050203.

Further Online Information:

Tylopilus felleus in Smith & Thiers, 1971
Tylopilus felleus at Roger's Mushrooms
Tylopilus felleus at Fungi of Poland

© MushroomExpert.Com

Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2001, September). Tylopilus felleus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/tylopilus_felleus.html