Xerocomus tenax

Big, broad, brown reticulation on a stem that is whitish but may tinge yellow. Hard, wood-nugget root. Flesh stains reddish purple. Pores DNS or stain slightly red. Tastes sour.

SKU: Boletus tenax Categories: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Description

Name in North American Boletes: Boletus tenax

Genus: Xerocomus

  • Genus 2: Boletus

Species: tenax

Common Name:

Tells: Big, broad, brown reticulation on a stem that is whitish but may tinge yellow. Hard, wood-nugget root. Flesh stains reddish purple. Pores DNS or stain slightly red. Tastes sour.

Other Information: Likes oak & pine. Reddish-brown cap tends to crack by the edges & gets ever more uneven w/age. Xer. illudens is very similar but usually has netting that goes only partway down the stem, and can be less nuggety at the base of the stem.

Science Notes: DNA testing moved this mushroom into the newly erected genus “Xerocomus.”

Edibility: Older books say “unknown” but your author has eaten and enjoyed it, and both the lookalike Xer. illudens and the almost-lookalike Xer. ferrugineus are considered “good.” The chances approach zero that no one has eaten tenax while believing it was one of those. Boletes of Eastern North America (2nd ed.) has promoted the species to “reportedly edible.”

CHEMICAL TESTS:

  • NH4OH (Ammonia): Cap skin turns green, then blue, and then brownish gray.
  • KOH: Cap skin turns brownish gray.
  • FeSO4 (Iron Salts): No data.

Links:

National Audubon Society Field guide to Mushrooms, Gary Lincoff  0 Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians  0 North American Boletes 167 BENA 426

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