Boletus zelleri

Posted by Elmer 7/24/12 --- - - Scroll Down to see the Discussion

Elmer: I found this grass near a sidewalk.
Maybe it is Boletus chrysenteron,
but there is a problem relative to the size of the stipe.
It is large and Arora says Boletus chrysenteron has a rather thin stipe.
Other sources seem to contradict this.
Is this Boletus chrysenteron??

Sava: This is a nice find, Elmer.
Interesting habitat, there must have been some trees nearby.
I suppose these guys usually grow in forests.
The chrysenteron I've seen (many times) was always much more cracked and with a slender stem.
The spores look like chrysenteron's, though; you got a good micrograph there.
Did you measure the spore size?
Dick will know better. I'm curious about the close-up of the tubes.
Did you do it with your scope-on-the-rope?

Judy: B. chrysenteron often shows up during the summer,
but the cap should be more matte textured with at least some cracks.
Both it and B. zelleri are woodland species,
but I have found zelleri this summer in peoples' yards,
which I've never seen before.
Zelleri has a slightly wrinkled, soapy-feeling cap with no cracking,
and is darker than chrysenteron,
and grows on wood, and there could possibly be roots or other dead wood under the lawn.
The cap color and shape more closely resemble zelleri.
Spore measurements would help. Those are excellent photos, BTW.
Elmer: Unfortunately I could not measure the spores in that I do not have an eyepiece with a reticle
(I ordered one yesterday).
I did use the "scope on a rope" for the close-up of the tubes.

Mike P: I will add a little,
but not much, to this conversation.
A large group of species in Boletus
(and now, possibly dispersed among new genera or reassigned) are red and yellow and,
to some degree, blue staining. On the east coast,
I knew Boletus bicolor (which this is not) and another one or two.
If you have not done so, you might look at the discussion on page 521 of Arora under B. bicolor.
Habitat can help a lot in classifying these.
But having said that,
Judy will probably take one look at your lovely photos and come up with the name.

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