page_title: Suillus bovinus
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Suillus bovinus / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: A bisected fruitbody of the bolete fungus Suillus bovinus.Habitat: Mixed wood side, dominant Pinus nigra, Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica and other hardwoods, with some ground vegetation; almost flat terrain, relatively sunny place, exposed to direct rain, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 8-10 deg C, elevation 370 m (1.200 feet), alpine phytogeographical region. Substratum: Soil under Pinus nigra. Place: Bovec basin, west of golf playground, west of Bovec, East Julian Alps, Posočje, Slovenia EC Comments: Growing solitary, a few fruitbodies in the vicinity. Pileus diameter 6-8 cm (2.3-3 inch). Cap yellow-ochre (oac855), pores and pore surface yellow-ochre (oac847), stipe yellow ochre (oac898), darker at the base (oac700), flesh yellow (oac856), no bruising observed, SP faint ocher (oac855); Spore dimensions: 8.4 (SD = 0.5) x 3.3 (SD = 0.1) micr., Q = 2.51 (SD = 0.16), n = 30. Motic B2-211A, magnification 1.000 x, oil, in water.
context_page_description: Suillus bovinus, also known as the Jersey cow mushroom or bovine bolete, is a pored mushroom of the genus Suillus in the family Suillaceae. A common fungus native to Europe and Asia, it has been introduced to North America and Australia. It was initially described as Boletus bovinus by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, and given its current binomial name by Henri François Anne de Roussel in 1806. It is an edible mushroom, though not highly regarded.
  The fungus grows in coniferous forests in its native range, and pine plantations in countries where it has become naturalised. It forms symbiotic ectomycorrhizal associations with living trees by enveloping the tree's underground roots with sheaths of fungal tissue, and is sometimes parasitised by the related mushroom Gomphidius roseus. Suillus bovinus produces spore-bearing fruit bodies, often in large numbers, above ground. The mushroom has a convex grey-yellow or ochre cap reaching up to 10 cm in diameter, which flattens with age. Like other boletes, it has tubes extending downward from the underside of the cap, rather than gills; spores escape at maturity through the tube openings, or pores. The pore surface is yellow.
context_section_description: The fruit body—colloquially called a mushroom—of Suillus bovinus is a basidiocarp which is smaller and daintier than most other boletes. The  cap is initially convex, then flat with a wavy margin and a grey-yellow or ochre with pink tinge in some specimens. It ranges from 3–10 cm (1 ¹⁄₄–4 in) in diameter and has a sticky skin. The flesh is whitish, yellowish or clay-coloured and has a fruity smell. Sometimes turning a pink tinge when bruised, the flesh is spongy and rubbery. Like other boletes, it has pores instead of gills that make up the hymenophore on the underside of the cap. Suillus bovinus has a characteristic compound pore layer, consisting of an outer layer of coarse, angular pores overlaying an inner layer of finer pores. The pores are grey- to olive-yellow and generally decurrent, comprising yellow to olive-yellow tubes that measure 0.3–1 cm (¹⁄₈–³⁄₈ in) long. The 4–6 cm (1 ¹⁄₂–2 ¹⁄₄ in) tall stipe, similar in colour to the cap, tends to be narrower towards the base. With a diameter of 0.5–0.8 cm (¹⁄₄–³⁄₈ in), it is more slender than those of other boletes.
  The spore print is an olive-brown colour. The oval to spindle-shaped spores have dimensions of 8–10 by 3.5–4.5 μm. Basidia (spore-bearing cells) are cylindrical to narrowly club-shaped, measuring 22.4–33.4 by 5.8–8.0 μm. They bear four sterigmata (each holding a single spore), which are up to 6.8 μm long. Cystidia are present on both the tube ends (cheilocystidia) and tube faces (pleurocystidia). There are no clamp connections in the hyphae of Suillus bovinus. The cap cuticle comprises filamentous, gelatinized hyphae with a diameter of 2.6–5.0 μm. The mycelium has a pink tinge.
  The distinctive colour of the cap and pores make it hard to confuse with other species. Often found in similar habitats is S. variegatus, though this species has a granular cap and dark olive pores, which are smaller and not decurrent. It can also bruise blue.
caption: Bisected fruit body
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