August-September.
I’d never seen an Ornate-stalked Bolete (Retiboletus
ornatipes, formerly Boletus ornatipes),
until this year. The first one was located where I couldn’t photograph it. But
the second one made sure I saw it – in the end.
It didn’t look like
much from above and I had missed it when I first walked along the trail. It
blended well into its surroundings.
However, it
certainly stood out in profile. I spotted it from a distance when I was walking
back along the trail. I couldn’t believe that I’d missed it when I passed by it
the first time. It was growing from exposed roots in the trail. Its cap was a
dun brown, broadly convex, and smooth. I had to sit down on the trail and
photograph it.
Retiboletus ornatipes is one bolete that is easy to identify from
the stem alone. Michael Kuo (Retiboletus
ornatipes) describes
the stem as ‘… prominently and coarsely reticulate with a yellow reticulum that
becomes brownish with age or handling.’ I like the description in Roger’s
Mushrooms (Boletus
ornatipes)
better, ‘Stem... surface with a prominent network, or reticulum, or raised
ridges.’ The specimens I’ve seen have ‘smooth’ stems with raised ridges that
bruise brown with age or handling.
The pore surface
was bright yellow with large pores (1-2/mm), easily visible to the naked eye.
The caps of old
specimens were darker in color and often cracked to reveal the yellow flesh.
Their stems were dark brown; a close view of the…
surface of the stem
showed that the ornate reticulation was still intact and sharply delineated.
The pores of old
specimens, that in this case hadn’t been bruised, had dried and had shrunk into
an interesting pattern.
With most
observations, I see a particularly specimen on one week only; rarely do I get
the opportunity to see the same specimen on two successive weeks. I was,
however, fortunate to have this opportunity with one specimen of Retiboletus ornatipes.
A young specimen
that still had a light yellow cap and a pristine stem with ornate reticulation
and no bruising.
A view of the pore
surface and the stem. The pores were still blocked.
A week later, the
cap was broadly convex and tan. The ridges that formed the reticulation were
bruised brown.
A close view of the
stem showed the brown-bruised stem. The ornate reticulation, however, was still
quite evident.
This was the only
species that I found at various places along the entire length of the trail. I
found it at three locations: near the beginning of the trail; midway along the
trail, above the cliff; and at the northern end of the trail not far from the
Old Fort.
Retiboletus
ornatipes is limited, geographically, to eastern North America. Specimens of related species
have been found in Central America.
References:
Mushroom
Expert: Retiboletus
ornatipes
The Bolete Filter: Retiboletus
ornatipes (Ornate Bolete)
Roger’s Mushrooms: Boletus
ornatipes
