Gyrodon merulioides

[ Basidiomycetes > Boletales > Paxillaceae > Gyrodon . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This odd bolete can be found in summer and fall wherever Ash Trees grow. Unlike many mushrooms, it is extremely picky about its trees; if you've found one, there's sure to be an ash tree nearby. Its pores are constructed differently than the pores in Boletus, Leccinum, and Tylopilus; the tubes are not separable, and their appearance is almost Suillus-like. The stem is almost always irregular (not central), and the cap is frequently wavy and asymmetrical. Though reported as edible, it stains blue and is rather tough and unappetizing. In the midwest, finding this mushroom in summer or fall frequently means you should make a mental note to return in the spring to look for morels, which also love ash trees.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic under White Ash trees, perhaps also under maples; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in eastern North America (perhaps also in the southwest).

Cap: 5-12 cm, irregular (nearly convex when young, becoming wavy and nearly vase-shaped, or flat); light to dark brown, sometimes reddish brown; dry, tacky when wet; soft and leathery; sometimes bruising darker brown.

Pore Surface: Pores elongated radially, sometimes appearing almost like gills, with many cross-veins; tubes shallow; running down the stem; yellow to olive, bruising brownish to olive to almost blue (sometimes not bruising); not separable.

Stem: 2-4 cm long; .5-2.5 cm thick; not central (sometimes nearly lateral); yellowish above, cap color or darker below; bruising darker brown.

Flesh: Whitish to yellowish; sometimes bruising slowly blue when exposed.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: Cap surface blackish, then dull red or orange with KOH or ammonia.

Spore Print: Olive brown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 7-10 x 6-7.5 µ; smooth; elliptical.

REFERENCES: (Schweinitz 1832) Singer, 1938. (Coker & Beers, 1943; Singer, 1945; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Metzler & Metzler, 1992; Both, 1993; Horn, Kay & Abel, 1993; Barron, 1999; Bessette, Roody & Bessette, 2000; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006; Kuo, 2007.) Herb. Kuo 09029501, 09010101.

Boletinellus merulioides is a synonym.

Further Online Information:

Boletinellus merulioides at Roger's Mushrooms

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2001, September). Gyrodon merulioides. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/gyrodon_merulioides.html