The Bovine Bolete (Suillus bovinus) is a common bolete of pine woods, named for its cow-brown colouring. The buff to pale brown cap is greasy or slimy when wet, often with a paler, wavy margin, and it has no ring on the stem. Look underneath at the pores: they are large, angular and compound, with each pore divided into smaller compartments, and they run a little way down the stem.
It grows with Scots Pine and other pines on poor, acid and sandy soils, often along tracks and rides, from summer into late autumn. It frequently appears alongside the Rosy Spike (Gomphidius roseus), which is thought to live off it. The Weeping Bolete (Suillus granulatus) has simple pores that weep milky droplets, and Slippery Jack (Suillus luteus) has a ring.
| Season | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Distribution
Fairly common and widespread
Habitat
In coniferous woodland especially with Pinus spp. and on sandy soils
Etymology
Suillus is from the Latin sus, 'pig', usually taken to refer to the greasy cap. bovinus is Latin for 'of cattle', after its cow-brown colour.
Associates
Pinus
Conservation
Cap
The cap is 4-10 cm across, convex to expanded, smooth or very finely scaled. It ranges from pinkish-buff to yellowish-brown and is viscid, slimy when wet, with the margin paler and inrolled at first.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex, Expanded |
| Surface | Smooth, Squarrose, Viscid |
| Width | 4 - 10 cm |
| Margin | Inrolled |
Pores
Large, angular and compound, each divided into smaller pores; running slightly down the stem.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Angular |
| Size | large |
Tubes
The tubes are golden yellow to yellowish-brown and subdecurrent, running slightly down the stem. The large, compound pores darken to greyish-green when damaged or aged.
| Colour |
|---|
Flesh
Pale yellow, changing little when cut.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Slightly fruity |
| Taste | Mild |
Stem
The stem is clavate to cylindrical, 4-6 cm tall and 5-8 mm wide, in pinkish-buff to yellowish-brown shades. It has no ring and a pinkish basal mycelium.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 4 - 6 cm |
| Width | 5 - 8 mm |
| Shape | Clavate, Cylindric |
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Subfusiform |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 8-10 x 3-4 μm |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Boletales
- ↳ Family: Suillaceae
- ↳ Genus: Suillus
Synonyms
- Boletus bovinus Fr.
- Boletus bovinus L.
- Boletus bovinus var. viridocaerulescens A. Pearson
- Ixocomus bovinus (Fr.) Quel.
- Ixocomus bovinus (L.) Quél.
- Suillus bovinus (Fr.) O. Kunze
- Suillus bovinus var. viridicaerulescens (A. Pearson) Singer
- Suillus bovinus var. viridocaerulescens (A. Pearson) Singer nom. inval.
Reference Sources
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
R. Phillips (2006) Mushrooms. Macmillan.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 1. Geoffrey Kibby.
