A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus Tuber. In addition to Tuber, over one hundred other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including Geopora, Peziza, Choiromyces, and Leucangium. These genera belong to the class Pezizomycetes and the Pezizales order. Several truffle-like basidiomycetes are excluded from Pezizales, including Rhizopogon and Glomus. Truffles are ectomycorrhizal fungi, so they are usually found in close association with tree roots. Spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. These fungi have significant ecological roles in nutrient cycling and drought tolerance.
Rhizopogon roseolus, shōro, is an ectomycorrhizal fungus, considered a delicacy in east Asia and Japan and used as a soil inoculant in agriculture and horticulture.
Rhizopogon is a genus of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes in the family Rhizopogonaceae. Species form hypogeous sporocarps commonly referred to as "false truffles". The general morphological characters of Rhizopogon sporocarps are a simplex or duplex peridium surrounding a loculate gleba that lacks a columnella. Basidiospores are produced upon basidia that are borne within the fungal hymenium that coats the interior surface of gleba locules. The peridium is often adorned with thick mycelial cords, also known as rhizomorphs, that attach the sporocarp to the surrounding substrate. The scientific name Rhizopogon is Greek for 'root' (Rhiz-) 'beard' (-pogon) and this name was given in reference to the rhizomorphs found on sporocarps of many species.
Chroogomphus is a genus of mushrooms commonly known as pine-spikes or spike-caps based on their shape and because they are often found growing in association with pine trees. The genus is distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere including North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.
Chroogomphus vinicolor, commonly known as the wine-cap Chroogomphus or the pine spike, is a species of mushroom in the family Gomphidiaceae. Found in North America and the Dominican Republic, mushrooms grow on the ground under pine trees. Fruit bodies have reddish-brown, shiny caps atop tapered stems. The gills are thick, initially pale orange before turning blackish, and extend a short way down the length of the stem. Although the mushroom is edible, and sold in local markets in Mexico, it is not highly rated. Distinguishing this species from some other similar Chroogomphus species is difficult, as their morphology is similar, and cap coloration is too variable to be a reliable characteristic. C. vinicolor is differentiated from the European C. rutilus and the North American C. ochraceus by the thickness of its cystidial walls.
Stereum sanguinolentum is a species of fungus in the Stereaceae family. A plant pathogen, it causes red heart rot, a red discoloration on conifers, particularly spruces or Douglas-firs. Fruit bodies are produced on dead wood, or sometimes on dead branches of living trees. They are a thin leathery crust of the wood surface. Fresh fruit bodies will bleed a red-colored juice if injured, reflected in the common names bleeding Stereum or the bleeding conifer parchment. It can be the host of the parasitic jelly fungus Tremella encephala.
Phellinus pini is a fungal plant pathogen that causes tree disease commonly known as "red ring rot" or "white speck". This disease, extremely common in the conifers of North America, decays tree trunks, rendering them useless for lumber. It is a rot of the heartwood. Signs of the fungus include shelf-shaped conks protruding from the trunks of trees. Spores produced on these conks are blown by the wind and go on to infect other trees. Formal management of this disease is limited, and the disease is controlled primarily by cultural practices. Red ring rot is an important forest disturbance agent and plays a key role in habitat formation for several forest animals.
The western red-backed vole is a species of vole in the family Cricetidae. It is found in California and Oregon in the United States and lives mainly in coniferous forest. The body color is chestnut brown, or brown mixed with a considerable quantity of black hair gradually lightening on the sides and grading into a buffy-gray belly, with an indistinct reddish stripe on the back and a bicolored tail about half as long as the head and body.
Hydnellum peckii is a fungus in the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses.
Bridgeoporus is a fungal genus in the family Polyporaceae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single polypore species Bridgeoporus nobilissimus, first described to science in 1949. Commonly known both as the noble polypore and the fuzzy Sandozi, this fungus produces large fruit bodies that have been found to weigh up to 130 kilograms (290 lb). The upper surface of the fruit body has a fuzzy or fibrous texture that often supports the growth of algae, bryophytes, or vascular plants.
Aureoboletus mirabilis, commonly known as the admirable bolete, the bragger's bolete, and the velvet top, is an edible species of fungus in the Boletaceae mushroom family. The fruit body has several characteristics with which it may be identified: a dark reddish-brown cap; yellow to greenish-yellow pores on the undersurface of the cap; and a reddish-brown stem with long narrow reticulations. Aureoboletus mirabilis is found in coniferous forests along the Pacific Coast of North America, and in Asia. Unusual for boletes, A. mirabilis sometimes appears to fruit on the wood or woody debris of Hemlock, suggesting a saprobic lifestyle. Despite occasional appearances to the contrary, Aureoboletus mirabilis is mycorrhizal, and forms close mutualistic associations with hemlock roots.
Xerocomellus zelleri, commonly known as Zeller's bolete, is an edible species of mushroom in the family Boletaceae. First described scientifically by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill in 1912, the species has been juggled by various authors to several genera, including Boletus, Boletellus, and Xerocomus. Found solely in western North America from British Columbia south to Mexico, the fruit bodies are distinguished by their dark reddish brown to nearly black caps with uneven surfaces, the yellow pores on the underside of the caps, and the red-streaked yellow stems. The fungus grows in summer and autumn on the ground, often in Douglas fir forests or on their margins. The development of the fruit bodies is gymnocarpic, meaning that the hymenium appears and develops to maturity in an exposed state, not enclosed by any protective membrane.
Suillus spraguei is a species of fungus in the family Suillaceae. It is known by a variety of common names, including the painted slipperycap, the painted suillus or the red and yellow suillus. Suillus spraguei has had a complex taxonomical history, and is also frequently referred to as Suillus pictus in the literature. The readily identifiable fruit bodies have caps that are dark red when fresh, dry to the touch, and covered with mats of hairs and scales that are separated by yellow cracks. On the underside of the cap are small, yellow, angular pores that become brownish as the mushroom ages. The stalk bears a grayish cottony ring, and is typically covered with soft hairs or scales.
Lactarius subflammeus, commonly known as the orange milk cap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is found in western North America in the late summer and fall and is especially common in the Pacific Northwest, where it grows on the ground near conifers like pine and spruce. The brightly colored fruit bodies, which are slimy or sticky, have scarlet caps when young that soon fade to brilliant orange. The stem—typically longer than the width of the cap—is also bright orange but the gills are whitish. The mushroom secretes a whitish latex when it is cut or injured.
Lactarius alnicola, commonly known as the golden milkcap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The fruit bodies produced by the fungus are characterized by a sticky, vanilla-colored cap up to 20 cm (7.9 in) wide with a mixture of yellow tones arranged in faint concentric bands. The stem is up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long and has yellow-brown spots. When it is cut or injured, the mushroom oozes a white latex, which has an intensely peppery taste. The acrid taste of the fruit bodies renders them unpalatable. The fungus is found in the western United States and Mexico, where it grows in mycorrhizal associations with various coniferous trees species, such as spruce, pine and fir, and deciduous species such as oak and alder. It has also been collected in India. Two varieties have been named: var. pitkinensis, known from Colorado, and var. pungens, from Michigan.
Septobasidium is a fungal genus within the family Septobasidiaceae. Approximately 175 described species are associated with this genus. 227 records are listed by Species Fungorum.
Suillus pungens, commonly known as the pungent slippery jack or the pungent suillus, is a species of fungus in the genus Suillus. The fruit bodies of the fungus have slimy convex caps up to 14 cm (5.5 in) wide. The mushroom is characterized by the very distinct color changes that occur in the cap throughout development. Typically, the young cap is whitish, later becoming grayish-olive to reddish-brown or a mottled combination of these colors. The mushroom has a dotted stem (stipe) up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long, and 2 cm (0.8 in) thick. On the underside on the cap is the spore-bearing tissue consisting of minute vertically arranged tubes that appear as a surface of angular, yellowish pores. The presence of milky droplets on the pore surface of young individuals, especially in humid environments, is a characteristic feature of this species. S. pungens can usually be distinguished from other similar Suillus species by differences in distribution, odor and taste. The mushroom is considered edible, but not highly regarded.
Hygrophorus bakerensis, commonly known as the Mt. Baker waxy cap, the brown almond waxy cap or the tawny almond waxy cap, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is characterized by its medium to large, relatively slender-statured fruit bodies with an almond odor, and growth often on or near rotting conifer wood. The slimy cap is brown in the center and cream to white near its curved edges. The gills and the stem are white, and in moist environments are often covered with droplets of a translucent liquid. The mushroom is known only from the United States, where it is common in coniferous forests throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was initially collected in Washington State on Mount Baker, a volcano. Although edible, the mushroom is not considered to be of high quality.
Amylostereum is the single genus in the fungal family Amylostereaceae. The genus currently comprises four saprotrophic and parasitic species, which live off living or dead wood. The Amylostereaceae cause white rot in the wood by disintegrating the tissue component lignin. They produce crust-like, partially wavy fruit bodies on the surface of infested trees, which are similar to those produced by Stereum species.
Rhizopogon evadens is a truffle-like fungus in the family Rhizopogonaceae. Found in North America, it was described as new to science by American mycologist Alexander H. Smith in 1966. The fungus produces roundish to irregularly shaped fruitbodies measuring 2–5 cm (0.8–2.0 in) in diameter, with irregular lobes, wrinkles and depressions on the surface. The peridium is whitish with light yellow to brown stains, and bruises red. The fungus has an unpleasant odor and a taste described as "metallic". Typical tree associates include pine, Douglas fir, and hemlock. Initially white, the gleba turn olive to olive-brown in maturity, with the contents developing a gelatinous consistency. The smooth spores of R. evadens are narrowly ellipsoid in shape, and measure 6–8 by 2–2.3 µm.
