Yellow Boletes in Yard

[Jenn86]

Hi all,

I am a first time poster and am hoping to ID some mushrooms that are growing in our yard. These are growing in huge clusters in my yard. There are probably 100 of them spread between two different locations that are fairly close to eachother. They are forming clusters with no distinct pattern (no ring or anything). They are all growing on the ground. The sites are surrounded by many different species of trees, so it is hard to identify if they are growing on a specific tree type's root structure, or not. They stain a reddish-brown...almost pinkish (including stalk, cap flesh, and pores). I have pictures of freshly cut flesh and flesh that has been allowed a minute or two to develop coloring in the attached photos. The flesh is light yellow before staining and the pores are slightly darker than the flesh of the cap. They have reddish-brown spots on a yellow stem. They smell very earthy and sweet...very edible smell (not that I would ever go off that alone ☺️). Spore print is dark brown. Max cap size seems to be around 6 in. All specimens seem to have circular caps until old age when they seem to sag and become irregular. Also worth noting is that the larger cap that I photographed has small bright red spots on them. I tried to get a photo of this in the pic of the close-up of the larger cap.

Can I eat these? Do they have medicinal uses? The ones that we have now seem to be past thier prime, but I am wanting to watch these spots for future foraging locations if these are tasty 😋. As a side note, my 4 yo found these and will be absolutely delighted if she found something edible (of course. I ALWAYS teach my kids never ever to eat anything without kknowing what it is). She said she found sshaggy stalked boletes❤️ (a recent find by our eldest) and came running in to show off her new find 😁 

I should have added that we live in East Tennessee, very close to the NC border.

[Kevin Hoover]

I’d start by checking Suillius subaureus 

[JOHNY]

That is a marvelous spore print.

Suillus americanus can look similar. Are there white pines closes by?

Suillius subaureus associates with trembling aspen. I think Tennessee is a bit far south for trembling aspen

 

[Jenn86]

Hi! Thanks for the replies. I guess I had notifications off because I am just now seeing this. We don't have any aspens here. We have MANY white pines. The area that these are covering is VERY large. The total area is probably 50ft (maybe more) by 20ft or so...of course they are sparse patches within that area, but there are a BUNCH of them spread over a large area. I have not picked through the patch to verify that they are all exactly the same thing, but samples from around the whole area appear to be all the same species. There are literally dozens of trees that could have roots in the area. White pine is definitely one. We also have a few other species of pine, red maple, and white and red oak. There are also some other tree species around the area (I would have to ask my husband for all of the names...he's the tree guy in our family 😁). 

 

Johny, I was wowed by the print it left, too! Believe it or not, it was only on the paper for maybe an hour. It must have been super ripe lol. I tried to make another spore print with the same cap and I left it overnight and didn't get enough spores to even be really sure of the color. The one I chose must have been ready to pop. 🤣

[Jenn86]

As a follow-up question, do either of you know if there are poisonous look-alikes of these species? My research says that suillus subaureus is not found this far south. Suillus americanus looks very much like what we have. One site said that there were no poisonous look-alikes, but sites seem to differ on what species they say are look-alikes, which makes me concerned that the information may not be consistent/credible. As a newbie to mushroom foraging, any input on this topic would be greatly appreciated!

[JOHNY]

I've never heard of toxic look alikes of White Pine Boletes (S. americanus)

I get lots in our gravel parking lot that is closely surrounded by white pines. Their roots spread far underground.

I've never eaten one  because the pore structure look like could have weird mouth feel.

Also, at the time of year  that they show up is for us the tail end of Loster Mushrooms but the beginning of Blewits and fall Oysters all of which I think must be better eating

[Kevin Hoover]

They are probably better dehydrated and used in soups and stews

[Jenn86]

Thanks! That's awesome info! I have heard that removing the pores improves texture. Some people say they are really gross though lol. I may try them, but my interest in foraging is more for if things really got tough, in which case I wouldn't be as worried about taste as I was survival. It is good to know that they are here. I appreciate the advice on other species ro hunt! I plan to hike out and look for different varieties this weekend. Everyone's help is truly appreciated! 

[Kevin Hoover]

I know this sounds strange, but we dehydrate them with the slime on, rather than trying to remove it.  The slime act to protect the late season mushrooms from frost.