Suillus grevillei
Larch Bolete
Status:
Common.
Suillus meaning of swines (pigs).
Cap:
5-11cm
Stem:
6-12cm
Grevillei after Robert Kaye Greville (Scottish mycologist and botanist).
Description
Quite a variable species with some specimens have a vivid orange cap and others with paler yellow caps, these colour changes from younger specimens to older ones and how dry the specimen is. The typical form is known as Suillus grevillei var grevillei and differs from var. badius by not having a chestnut or red cap.
Smell
Not distinctive.
Season
Summer to late Autumn.
Habitat & Distribution
Exclusively with Larch (Larix), and common where these trees occur.
Edibility
We do not like any of the Suillus family, there are far better species to target, but they are often eaten in Eastern Europe, where the slimy layer and top part of the cap are peeled off, the tubes removed and just the flesh of the cap which is very well cooked is used.
Confusion Species
Spores
6-11 x 3-4 μm. Subfusiform to broadly elliptical.
Spore Print Colour
Ochre.
The red-brown form of the Larch Bolete (Suillus grevillei var. badius), is identical except for the much redder colour.
The Bovine Bolete (Suillus bovinus), is more of a washed out yellow/peach/orange colour and usually grows with pine.
The Weeping Bolete (Suillus granulatus), at the top of the stem is usually covered in cloudy droplets