not quite pores, not quite (false) gills...

[wny_forager]

unable to identify these with my books or internet. no change from bruising at all, growing in clusters, dry day so dry caps. stems eaten by slugs but don’t seem originally hollow. 

scent is strange — not mushroomy, just like dirt or grass scent. i’m not good at smells though  

growing on the ground in the woods but plenty of buried wood/roots for it to grow off. 

mixed woods, western new york state. oak, beech, birch, maple, hemlock, hickory, very few pine or spruce. 

 

thank you! 

[Kevin Hoover]

That’s a Bolete.  Don’t have my book with me but that should start your search 

[Dave W]

There should be an ash tree nearby where these were growing. This is Boletinellus merulioides, the "Ash Tree Bolete." It's ecology is interesting. It gets its nutrients rom an insect that is a parasite on the roots of the ash tree. You may read about it here  http://www.mushroomexpert.com/boletinellus_merulioides.html .

[Kevin Hoover]

That’s it.  I knew it had a certain tree associated with it but couldn’t remember which one

[wny_forager]

3 hours ago, Dave W said:

There should be an ash tree nearby where these were growing. This is Boletinellus merulioides, the "Ash Tree Bolete." It's ecology is interesting. It gets its nutrients rom an insect that is a parasite on the roots of the ash tree. You may read about it here  http://www.mushroomexpert.com/boletinellus_merulioides.html .

thank you ! 

[Calvert]

One of the few Boletes that isn't mycorrhizal.  It's pretty interesting that it's formed a symbiotic relationship but also involved an animal in the mix, where mycorrhizal relationships are normally just between plant and fungi.  And you get a mutualistic relationship between fungi and animal, combined with a parasitic relationship between the animal and plant.   

They might have the most gorgeous pores among all the Boletes as well.

[Tasso]

I find a lot of these although fewer as the ash trees die out from the emerald ash borer. Too bad it's a lousy edible. To me, it tastes like wet cardboard.

[Calvert]

I've eaten it once, and don't have fond memories.  Interestingly, it's listed as non edible on mycoquebec.org.  Perhaps it's just a case of it being such a poor edible that they don't recommend it?  I'm not sure, as they don't expound on it in the comments.