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

Boletes

Chestnut Bolete (Gyroporus castaneus)
Frost’s Bolete or Candy Apple Bolete (Exsudoporus frostii syn. Butyriboletus frostii)
Painted Suillus (Suillus spraguei syn. S. pictus)
Butterball (Suillus weaverae)
Red-cracking Bolete (Xerocomellus chrysenteron)
Two-colored Bolete (Baorangia bicolor)
Chrome-footed Bolete (Harrya chromipes)
Old-Man-of-the-Woods (Strobilomyces strobilaceus)

**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 plano-convex; 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.