Suillus bovinus, also known as the Jersey cow mushroom, is a pored mushroom

Boletales

The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes, containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes...

 of the genus Suillus

Suillus

Suillus is a genus of basidiomycete fungi in the family Suillaceae and order Boletales. Species in the genus are associated with coniferous trees, and are mostly distributed in northern temperate locations, although some species have been introduced to the Southern Hemisphere.-Taxonomy:The genus...

in the Suillaceae

Suillaceae

The Suillaceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales , containing the boletus-like Suillus, the small truffle-like Truncocolumella, as well as the monotypic genus Psiloboletinus. As of 2008, there are 54 species in the family...

 family. It is an edible mushroom

Edible mushroom

Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...

 that often grows in a symbiosis

Symbiosis

Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...

 (Mycorrhiza

Mycorrhiza

A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant....

) with pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

.

Description

The cap of Suillus bovinus is initially convex, then flat with a wavy margin and a grey-yellow in colour. The flesh is whitish or yellowish and the pores are irregular and grey- to olive-yellow and generally decurrent to the 4–6 cm tall stem, which is a similar colour to the cap and smaller towards the base. The flesh is very spongy and foam rubber like to the extent that it is often possible to bend the cap double without breaking it.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in coniferous woods across Europe, including subalpine

Subalpine

The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...

 regions in the Alps.

Edibility

Suillus bovinus tastes mild and is edible

Edible mushroom

Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...

, although it was left for the medieval peasants while medieval French knights allegedly reserved the highly regarded Tricholoma equestre

Tricholoma equestre

Tricholoma equestre or Tricholoma flavovirens, also known as Man on horseback or Yellow knight is a formerly widely eaten but hazardous fungus of the Tricholoma genus that forms ectomycorrhiza with pine trees....

for themselves.

Ecology

The related Gomphidius roseus

Gomphidius roseus

Gomphidius roseus, commonly known as the rosy spike-cap or pink gomphidius, is a gilled mushroom found in Europe. Although it has gills, it is a member of the order Boletales, along with the boletes...

is found exclusively with this species, and is now thought to be parasitic upon the mycelium of Suillus bovinus.