Suillus Caerulescens

Day 35: If you have found a mushroom with "sponge" underneath the cap instead of gills, it is most likely one of the boletes. The common name is a convenient generalization for a group which includes Boletus, Suillus, Leccinum and others. Many are edible, and some are choice: the "King Boleta" (Boletus edulis), for example. As a rule, those with red pores or stipes are to be considered poisonous, and those which stain blue may cause reactions in some people. Suillus caerulescens (above) is one of the latter. Also known as the "Douglas-fir Suillus," they fruit abundantly in my yard. The cap is viscid (sticky), and the pores are large and angular (see inset). "Fat Jack" is another common name for the species, and it is generally regarded to be undesirable for the table.

Egg Hunt

Day 6: While attempting to confirm that the big, floppy mushrooms which spring up in my yard so prodigiously at this time of year were indeed Suillus caerulescens, I made a tissue slice which captured perfectly an ovoid form which I believe to be an insect egg. It is far too large to be a spore, which of course was what I was hoping to find. Although considered edible, Suillus flesh is generally too full of bugs to be worth the bother, at least in my personal experience. "Wormy" is the word most frequently used to describe the condition, although in fact the little wiggly things are the larvae of minute flies. Were that not enough to put me off eating the bounty at my doorstep, S. caerulescens is one of the blue-staining species which cause abdominal distress in some people but not in others (sidebar: I'm the "one in a million" who always gets the undesirable side effects from prescribed medications, and am unwilling to chance it with mushrooms). S. caerulescens is typified by large, angular pores, a viscid cap, and a preference for growing in Doug-fir detritus. Other Suillus species may be associated with larch or various pines. And for those of you who are trying to get a handle on Latin, "caerulescens" is related to the English word "cerulean," a lovely shade. The root word is "caeruleum," i.e., "blue."