Farmscape Ecology Program

a Hawthorne Valley Association Program

Stalked Polypores

Link back to Polypores, Brackets & Oysters page

Often “polypore” refers to bracket-shaped mushrooms. Stalked polypores refer to a typical mushroom shape, upright with a distinct cap and stem, with pores on the underside of the cap. Furthermore, these are separated into Boletes and all other stalked polypores. Oyster or oyster-like mushrooms, some of which have stalks, can be found on the “Bracket Fungi” page.

Boletes

Other Stalked Polypores

  • Spring Polypore (Lentinus arcularius)
  • Blackfoot Polypore (Polyporus varius syn. Cerioporus leptocephalus)
  • Bay Polypore (Polyporus badius syn. Picipes badius)
  • Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus)
  • Rooting Polypore (Polyporus radicatus)
  • Shiny Cinnamon Polypore (Coltricia cinnamomea)

 

Boletes

Chestnut Bolete (Gyroporus castaneus)

Notes: small size

Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal or saprophytic; on the ground; deciduous forests, sometimes under conifers; summer and fall

Cap: convex to flat, center slightly depressed in age; velvety; margin turned up in age]; chestnut brown, orangish brown, yellowish brown; dry

Pore surface: small, circular to sub-angular pores; surface white to creamy at first, becoming dull yellow; not staining but bruising, but staining in age

Stem: hollowing (stuffed with pith), thick and equal; colored like cap; smooth surface; dry

Flesh: white, not staining; brittle and thick; odor not distinctive

Spore print: pale yellow

Chemical reactions (via Mushroomexpert.com): Ammonia negative to orangish on cap; negative on flesh. KOH negative to yellowish on cap; negative on flesh. Iron salts are negative on cap and flesh.

Look-alikes:  

Frost’s Bolete or Candy Apple Bolete (Exsudoporus frostii syn. Butyriboletus frostii)

  • Notes: 
  • Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground in humus, grass and moss; deciduous and mixed forest, especially under oaks; summer and fall
  • Cap: convex to flat; smooth; pale yellow margin, incurved slightly; bright red, rather than the dull or brownish-red of many boletes; sticky and shiny when fresh
  • Pore surface: small, circular pores with tubes sunken around stalk; surface dark red becoming brown-red, yellowish near stem and cap margin; bruising blue quickly  
  • Stem: thick and equal; raised, red reticulate texturing with yellow underneath; white basal mycelium
  • Flesh: white to pale yellow overall, reddish at the stem base and blue when bruised or slices; smell not distinctive
  • Spore print: olive brown
  • Chemical reactions: 
  • Look-alikes: 

 

Red-cracking Bolete (Xerocomellus chrysenteron

  • Notes:
  • Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground under oaks and sometimes conifers; summer and fall
  • Cap: convex to plane; velvet when young; brown, cracking to reveal pink underneath; dry
  • Pore surface: pale yellow, turning olivey-brown and bruising blue; angular pores
  • Stem: long with a pinched base; ridge longitudinally; red with pinkish tones;
  • Flesh: white in the cap, yellowish in the stem; bruising blue on the pore surface and lightly on the stem
  • Chemical reactions (via Mushroomexpert.com):
  • Spore print: brown to olive brown
  • Look-alikes: 

Two-colored Bolete (Baorangia bicolor)

  • Notes: 
  • Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground under oaks in deciduous or mixed woods; summer and fall
  • Cap: large mushroom; convex becoming flat; surface; margin]; brick red but has also been observed as bright yellow when young; dry and suede-like; becoming cracked
  • Pore surface: shallow, angular, tiny pores; run slightly down stem; bruises blue quickly; yellow, turning olivey over time
  • Stem: equal or club-shaped; red up until the apex; young specimens might bruise blue; surface might have a light reticulate layer; yellow basal mycelium; dry
  • Flesh: stains blue slowly when cut, else only the pores stain; might smell like curry
  • Chemical reactions (via Mushroomexpert.com): Ammonia negative on cap surface (or very rarely flashing faintly purple), negative on flesh. KOH dull orange on cap surface (or very rarely flashing quickly dark blue); dull orange on flesh. Iron salts dark gray to grayish olive on cap surface; gray on flesh.
  • Spore print: olive brown
  • Look-alikes: Baorangia psuedosensibilis and Baorangia sensibilis have yellow stems with redness developing on the lower part of the stem.

 

Chrome-footed Bolete (Harrya chromapes)

  • Notes: 
  • Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground under a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees – especially oak, beech, and pine; summer and fall
  • Cap: convex to plane; velvety to bald; pink when young, paling to brown; tacky
  • Pore surface: angular, small pores; off-white, brownish with age; no bruising
  • Stem: equal or tapering to apex; pink at apex and very bright yellow base and basal mycelium; dotted surface
  • Flesh: whitish
  • Spore print: pink-brown to cinnamon-brown
  • Look-a-likes: Leccinum species also have dotting on the stems;

 

Old-Man-of-the-Woods (Strobilomyces strobilaceus)

  • Notes: 
  • Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; deciduous (often oak and/or beech) and coniferous woods (often pine); summer and fall
  • Cap: convex; very shaggy patches that form a mosaic on a white surface; margin has hanging remnants of the universal veil
  • Pore surface: angular and deep; surface white at first, turning brown and black with age; bruising red
  • Stem: long and equal; grey and shaggy
  • Flesh: white when young, turning orange/pink when cut, and eventually black
  • Spore print: black-brown
  • Chemical reactions (via Mushroomexpert.com):
  • Look-a-likes:

 

Butterball (Suillus weaverae)

  • Notes: synonym of the European Dotted-stalk Suillus (Suillus granulatus syn.Suillus lactifluus)
  • Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on the ground under White Pine; summer and fall
  • Cap: convex to plane; surface smooth; brown coloring that breaks up into patches of brown that darkens with age; margin overhangs a bit; viscid
  • Pore surface: white to dull yellow; might have spots of liquid; doesn’t bruise or might bruise brown lightly
  • Stem: brown glandular dots on the upper surface; white with some yellowing
  • Flesh: white with no color change other than yellowing with age
  • Chemical reactions (via Mushroomexpert.com):
  • Spore print: cinnamon brown
  • Look-alikes: Dotted-stalk Suillus (Suillus granulatus) is a European species that has previously been used to describe the Butterball (Suillus weaverae). 

Painted Suillus (Suillus spraguei syn. S. pictus)

  • Notes: 
  • Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal; on humus and moss; under White Pine; late summer and fall
  • Cap: rounded, convex to plano-convex; yellow with thick, pink-red scales or patches that lighten with age; margin incurved and with remnants of partial veil; dry, maybe tacky but not viscid as in other Suillus spp.
  • Pore surface: large angular and irregular pores, radially arranged and sometimes running down the stem; yellow surface, browning with age; occasionally bruising reddish brown; covered by a white partial veil at first
  • Stem: solid, equal or wider at base; fibrous like the cap with yellow-white flesh underneath red scales; dry; may have a whitish ring; basal mycelium white; not bruising
  • Flesh: yellow throughout, staining pink to red to brown when sliced; firm when young; smell not distinctive
  • Spore print: reddish or olive brown
  • Chemical reactions (via Mushroomexpert.com):
  • Look-alikes: 

Other Stalked Polypores

Spring Polypore (Lentinus arcularius)

  • Notes:
  • Habitat & Ecology: saprophytic; deciduous wood; spring but can stick around for a long time
  • Cap: circular, convex with a depressed center, and margin is lined with projecting hairs; small to medium-sized; surface is scaly; yellow-brown with darker scales; dry
  • Underside: pore size ranges widely; angular or hexagonal pores, running down stem slightly; white-yellow
  • Stem: short stature, the cap is as wide as the stem is long; light brown; white basal mycelium
  • Flesh: white and thin; smell fragrant or not distinctive
  • Spore print: white
  • Look-alikes: Winter Polypore (Lentinus brumalis) has a dark brown cap and no projecting hairs from the margin; Blackfoot Polypore (Polyporus varius) has a black stem base and the pores are very tiny.

Blackfoot Polypore (Polyporus varius syn. Cerioporus leptocephalus)

  • Notes: **second photo is a look-a-like
  • Habitat & Ecology: saprophytic; deciduous sticks and logs without bark; come out in spring but the fruiting bodies can dry and stick around throughout the rest of the year
  • Cap: circular or kidney shaped; surface may be fibrillose; margin uplifted; yellow/tan; dry
  • Underside: very small, angular pores; pores run down the stem; grey at first and becoming yellowish-brown; bruising faintly brown
  • Stem: attached in the center or off-center of the cap; black at the base when young, and making its way up the stem with age; dark part might be fuzzy and light part bald; dry
  • Flesh: whitish yellow; smell fragrant
  • Spore print: white
  • Look-a-likes: Elegant Polypore (Cerioporus varius) is similar but larger, has a shorter stem, and grows on logs and stumps rather than branches (see second photo); Bay Polypore (Polyporus badius) is larger and on logs and stumps.

Bay Polypore (Polyporus badius syn. Picipes badius)

  • Notes: 
  • Habitat & Ecology: saprophytic; deciduous logs and stumps; summer to fall, usually colder periods
  • Cap: circular, convex with a depression; smooth surface, glossy; margin wavy; reddish brown, darkest at the center and fading out to the margin, the center blackens with age too; dry
  • Underside: very small, shallow spores; white surface; pores extend down the stem
  • Stem: short stalk, attached laterally, in the center, or off-center; dark and fuzzy
  • Flesh: white, thin, and tough; smell not distinctive
  • Spore print: white
  • Look-alikes: Blackfoot Polypore (Polyporus varius) is smaller and on smaller pieces of wood; Rooting Polypore (Polyporus radicatus) is on the ground and has a rooting stem.

Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) 

  • Notes: 
  • Habitat & Ecology: saprophytic on deciduous logs and stumps and parasitic on living deciduous trees, especially Box Elder and Silver Maple; spring to fall
  • Cap: large fan, plano-convex, and maybe depressed; yellow colored under brown scales; the center and the scales darken with age; dry
  • Underside: large, angular, or irregular pores; running down the stem; white
  • Stem: off-center; velvety black at the base
  • Flesh: thick and soft when young, becoming corky with age; mealy smell
  • Spore print: 
  • Look-a-likes: Hexagonal-pored Polypore (Neofavolus alveolaris) is similar but smaller in size, does not have a distinct stem, and grows on branches rather than well-decayed logs or stumps.

 

Rooting Polypore (Polyporus radicatus)

  • Notes: 
  • Habitat & Ecology: saprophytic; on the ground, attached to living or dead deciduous roots underground; summer to fall
  • Cap: flat and lobed, sunken in the center; the surface is velvety or with scales; yellow-brown or red-brown; dry
  • Underside: angular and shallow pores that run down the stem; white surface; no bruising
  • Stem: long and rooting; yellow-brown aboveground and dark brown below; scurfy; dry
  • Flesh: thick and white; smell not distinctive
  • Spore print: white
  • Look-a-likes: Without seeing the rooting stem, its presence on the ground and general stalky-ness might be mistaken for a Bolete. However, most boletes have convex caps with entire margins (not lobed), are not scurfy, and their pore/tube layer can be easily peeled off.

Shiny Cinnamon Polypore (Coltricia cinnamomea)

  • Notes: also called “Lesser Tiger’s Eye”
  • Habitat & Ecology: mycorrhizal and maybe saprophytic also; on the ground, in moss along trails; deciduous forest
  • Cap: flat or vase-shaped, and circular; surface is silky and metallic; margin thin; zones bands of brown; dry
  • Underside: medium-sized pores; brown
  • Stem: short stem; velvety; brown; dry
  • Flesh: brown, tough and leathery
  • Spore print: yellow-brown
  • Look-alikes: Coltricia perennis is very similar but is found on sandy soil under conifers, and is a bit more golden.