Suillus tomentosus
Encyclopedia
Suillus tomentosus is a species
of mushroom
. The common names of the species are Blue-staining Slippery Jack, Poor Man's Slippery Jack, and Woolly-capped Suillus.
. The tubes are yellow and become blue when bruised. The stipe
is grandular dotted and the color is similar to the cap. The cap is scaly and has fibrillose. The spores are brownish when they are young. The spore print
is dark olive brown to brown. The species stains fingers blue. Suillus variegatus and suillus reticulatus are similar to this species. The species can be distinguished between other species in this genus because fibrillose-scaly surface of the cap.
and vomiting
. The author David Arora
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 when dried. The species have also been said to smell like almonds. Consumers have to be careful that when they look for this species, that they be careful to distinguish this between other species that stain blue but are poisonous.
of Idaho
and the Pacific Northwest
. It is less common in the lake states. The species fruits in the summer
in the Rocky Mountains
. 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. The species can commonly be found under lodgepole pines
or other two-needle pines. It is rarely found under jack pines
.
S. tomentosus forms tuberculate ectomycorrhizae (mycorrhizae that are nodular) with lodgepole pine
(Pinus contorta var. latifolia). Recent work has shown that acetylene
is reduced by the nodules which means that nitrogen
is being fixed
by bacteria within the nodules. This system is functionally similar to the root nodule
s in legumes like clover
. 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.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
. The common names of the species are Blue-staining Slippery Jack, Poor Man's Slippery Jack, and Woolly-capped Suillus.
Description
The cap is pale to orange-yellow with grayish brownish or reddish tomentumTomentum
Tomentum may refer to the following:*In botany, a covering of closely matted or fine hairs on plant leaves. *A network of minute blood vessels in the brain.* Tomentum in zoology are a short, soft pubescence...
. The tubes are yellow and become blue when bruised. The stipe
Stipe (mycology)
thumb|150px|right|Diagram of a [[basidiomycete]] stipe with an [[annulus |annulus]] and [[volva |volva]]In mycology a stipe refers to the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile hyphal...
is grandular dotted and the color is similar to the cap. The cap is scaly and has fibrillose. The spores are brownish when they are young. The spore print
Spore print
thumb|300px|right|Making a spore print of the mushroom Volvariella volvacea shown in composite: mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print...
is dark olive brown to brown. The species stains fingers blue. Suillus variegatus and suillus reticulatus are similar to this species. The species can be distinguished between other species in this genus because fibrillose-scaly surface of the cap.
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 such as diarrheaDiarrhea
Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...
and vomiting
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
. The author David Arora
David Arora
David Arora is an American mycologist, naturalist, and writer. He is the author of two popular books on mushroom identification, Mushrooms Demystified and All That the Rain Promises and More.......
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 when dried. The species have also been said to smell like almonds. Consumers have to be careful that when they look for this species, that they be careful to distinguish this between other species that stain blue but are poisonous.
Habitat
The species is commonly found in the Rocky MountainsRocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. It is less common in the lake states. The species fruits in the summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. Also, the species fruits in autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
along the Pacific coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
and in the lake states. The species is by itself or scattered in mixed forests. The species can commonly be found under lodgepole pines
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
or other two-needle pines. It is rarely found under jack pines
Jack Pine
Jack pine is a North American pine with its native range in Canada east of the Rocky Mountains from Northwest Territories to Nova Scotia, and the northeast of the United States from Minnesota to Maine, with the southernmost part of the range just into northwest Indiana...
.
S. tomentosus forms tuberculate ectomycorrhizae (mycorrhizae that are nodular) with lodgepole pine
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
(Pinus contorta var. latifolia). Recent work has shown that acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
is reduced by the nodules which means that nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
is being fixed
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...
by bacteria within the nodules. This system is functionally similar to the root nodule
Root nodule
Root nodules occur on the roots of plants that associate with symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Under nitrogen-limiting conditions, capable plants form a symbiotic relationship with a host-specific strain of bacteria known as rhizobia...
s in legumes like clover
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
. 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.