Читать книгу Identification of the Larger Fungi - Roy Watling - Страница 13

Cap: width 45–150 mm. Stem: length 70–200 mm; width 20–30 mm.

Description: Plate 1.

Cap: convex and becoming only slightly expanded at maturity, pale brown, tan or buff, soft, surface dry, but in wet weather becoming quite tacky, smooth or streaky-wrinkled and cap-margin not overhanging the tubes.

Stem: white, buff or greyish, roughened by scurfy scales which are minute, pale and arranged in irregular lines at the stem-apex, and enlarged and dark brown to blackish towards the base.

Tubes: depressed about the stem, white becoming yellowish brown at maturity, with small, white pores which become buff at maturity and bruise distinctly yellow-brown or pale pinkish brown when touched.

Flesh: watery, very soft in the cap lacking distinctive smell and either not changing on exposure to the air or only faintly becoming pinkish or pale peach-colour.

Spore-print: brown with flush of pinkish brown when freshly prepared.

Spores: very long, spindle-shaped, smooth, pale honey-coloured under the microscope and more than 14 µm in length (14–20 µm long × 5–6 µm broad).

Marginal cystidia: numerous and flask-shaped. Facial cystidia: sparse, similar to marginal cystidia.

Habitat & Distribution: Found in copses and woods containing birch trees, or even accompanying solitary birches.

General Information: This fungus is recognised by the pale brown cap, the white, unchanging or hardly changing flesh and the cap-margin not overhanging the tubes. There are several closely related fungi which also grow with birch trees but they need some experience in order to distinguish them. This fungus was formerly placed in the genus Boletus, indeed it will be found in many books under this name. Species of Leccinum are edible and considered delicacies in continental Europe. The majority can be separated from the other fleshy fungi with pores beneath the cap, i.e. boletes, by the black to brown scaly stem and rather long, elongate spores. The scales on the stem give rise to the common name ‘Rough stalks’ which is applied to this whole group of fungi.

Illustrations: F 39C; Hvass 253; LH 122; NB 155⁶; WD 89¹.