Sunny_0ne Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hi, I'm new here. I haven't been able to find this mushroom in any of my books. I'm not even certain it's a leccinum, but I think it is. It has a yellowish brown spore print. It was growing under pines in northwest Georgia. The most obvious identifying characteristic to me was the brown speckled stalk. The flesh was beige and the pores were light tan, with no bruising. A day after I cut them, the flesh had deepened to a darker tan and the pores had darkened to brown. I'm attaching some photos. I mainly just want to know if I am correct in identifying it as a leccinum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 The mushrooms seen above are Suillus. There may be more than one species pictured. Leccinum stalks have what are called "scabers." There are raised points on the stalk that are usually dark-colored, and are dry to the touch. The dots on the Suillus stalks seen here are likely to feel sticky. These are sometimes called "glands", because they often contain a sticky resinous substance. A few of the photos above show a "partial veil" which covers the pore surface of the young mushroom. This will often disappear as the mushroom matures, and may or may not leave a ring or ring-zone on the stalk. Some Suillus species have partial veil. No Leccinum species have partial veil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny_0ne Posted September 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Thank you, Dave. I hadn't considered that it might be a suillus because it was not sticky at all. In fact, the surface felt dry and kind of like kidskin. And none of my books told me that no Leccinum have partial veils! Thank you so much! I have ordered Boletes of North America by Arleen and Alan Bessette and it should be here next week, I hope. That will help a LOT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyflyfsh Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Boletes of North America is an excellent book and I refer to it all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Unfortunately, my copy of the above mentioned book was destroyed in a flood, along with many others. Fortunately, I was able to salvage quite a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny_0ne Posted September 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Rex, I've lost my copy of Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States by Bessette. I've torn the house apart looking for it and can't find it. I looked it up on Amazon, and it will cost $60 to replace, so I guess I'll be doing without that one for a while! Glad you were able to salvage some of your books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Sunny, it's good that you mentioned the Suillus not being at all sticky. Especially during a dry spell of weather, a mushroom that is ordinarily sticky/viscid may dry out. Also, I should re-phrase my claim about Leccinum... I don't know of any Leccinum that occurs with partial veil. There may be some exception. Nonetheless, I'd bet $20 (my personal limit :-) that the mushrooms pictured above are all Suillus. The short stature is another feature that favors Suillus over Leccinum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyflyfsh Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 I agree, I think the mushrooms above are Suillus and not Leccinum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny_0ne Posted September 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 I really appreciate the hint that suillus are not necessarily sticky all the time. After you said that, I remembered reading "viscid when wet" in some of the descriptions. My only prior suillus identification experience was last November when I found one of the slippery jack- type mushrooms underneath pines on the edge of our property. I think it was a suillus brevipes. The only reason I guessed at it being a leccinum was because I was looking through my books (and on the net) trying to find a spotted stalk bolete. I was reading Roody and he made a remark about a spotted stalk "like some leccinum." I had been so desperate to identify that spotted stalk that I jumped on that and ran with it.... which is a classic example of how NOT to go about mushroom identification! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Rex, I've lost my copy of Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States by Bessette. I've torn the house apart looking for it and can't find it. I looked it up on Amazon, and it will cost $60 to replace, so I guess I'll be doing without that one for a while! Glad you were able to salvage some of your books. Thanks, Sunny. Yes, the replacement cost is high and at this time, the ones i lost will have to remain lost. Sometimes, you can find a good, used copy of a particular field guide on ebay, although I haven't checked it out in a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny_0ne Posted September 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Rex, I checked eBay and halfcom. The lowest price there was $90.00! I'll just plan on replacing the book from Amazon next spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 A few years ago, I posted a want ad on a classified site here in Canada. kijiji.com, in case you're curious. I simply said, "Wanted, mushroom field guides". I got some fantastic deals and one guy had 3 boxes of books. Mostly Dutch, I believe, but beautiful plates in every one. I got all of them for 100 dollars. I was pleased. Hopefully you can find some deal as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Found some Leccinums today. Initially, I thought this first type was an example of L. albellum. But the bright blue staiing of the cut flesh in the stalk does not fit this species. This second type has a reddish cap. One possible ID is L. atrostipitatum. The staining pattern on the cut flesh matches the descrition for this species. I have always eaten Leccinum without regard for species ID. There are reports of people getting sick from eating red-capped Leccinums. But since neither my wife nor I have ever had a problem with Scaber Stalk mushrooms, I'll continue to cook them. I fry the thinly sliced salted stalks/caps in butter until they get a bit brown/crispy and have them with pancakes... a bacon substitute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny_0ne Posted September 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Very descriptive pictures, Dave. I'm also glad to hear that you have had no problems eating them. I am very cautious with any mushroom I eat, but I think some of the writers go overboard with warnings on mushrooms that have a proven record of being good edibles. Then there are some mushrooms that just disagree with some people. Hen of the woods tears my stomach up to the point I feel like I have a bad ulcer, while it's an excellent edible for most people. Thanks again for those photos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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