Day 11: Not all identifications can be made with the naked eye. According to one field guide, "Boletus truncatus is a common species in conifer forests and can only be separated from B. chrysenteron by looking at the spores, which are truncate on one end." Right, and that's why I have a microscope...not that I'd be eating any blue-staining boletes. Some of the staining species are purportedly edible, but "may cause reactions in certain individuals," so I'm not taking any chances. Still, it's nice to be able to put names on the things you find growing in your yard, so when Boletus somethingorotherus popped up under my big Doug fir, I decided an analysis was in order. I fully expected my 'shrooms to be B. truncatus and studied images of the spores of both species while my sample was shedding onto a slide overnight. This morning, Mr. Boletus' true identity came to light when the 'scope revealed thousands upon thousands of perfectly non-truncate material. Boletus chrysenteron it is, spores at 1000x magnification.
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