Description
Name in North American Boletes: Suillus pictus
Genus: Suillus
Species: spraguei
- Species 2: pictus
Common Name: “Painted Suillus”
Tells: Very distinctive red/brown scales all over the cap. Likes White Pine. Yellow pores age to brown, stain red-brown, & can be huge.
Other Information: The cap is by far the most distinctive feature. Stem may have a grayish ring. Yellow cap flesh DNS or may redden just a bit.
Science Notes: DNA testing has led the authorities to move this mushroom back from the well known “pictus” name to the older spraguii. Whatever the name, it is an eastern counterpart to the equally common, genetically distinct west coast mushroom Suillus lakeii.
Edibility: Good, especially for a suillus. Fresh specimens soften & darken when cooked. Your author prefers them dried.
CHEMICAL TESTS:
- NH4OH (Ammonia): Cap skin turns blackish. Cap flesh turns olive to greenish black.
- KOH: Cap skin turns blackish. Cap flesh turns olive to greenish black.
- FeSO4 (Iron Salts): Cap skin turns blackish. Cap flesh turns grayish green to greenish black.
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Got something to discuss?
I am finding these on my property in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. I also found them in Pisgah State Park in Hinsdale NH yesterday. What do you need to add those regions to your listing?
Spragueii is found across the Northeast. New Hampshire is included in that category. We only add smaller regions when there is access to an exhaustive and all-but-complete local life list, such as that of the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club (25 years of careful record keeping) or a renowned local expert.
So is this spraguei, pictus, or lakeii? Description explains it’s been rolled back to its previous name.
Thanks for the comment. I have clarified the text. This species was widely known by the evocative and useful name of “pictus” but DNA testing and the rules of nomenclature ended up reverting it to the technically older name “spragueii.” The western equivalent, lakeii, is a separate species (and possibly more than one according to unpublished rumor).
Is their flesh yellow when cut?
Yes, the context is yellow.