Suillus tomentosus

Appearance

The cap is pale to orange-yellow with grayish brownish or reddish tomentum. The tubes are yellow and become blue when bruised. The stipe is grandular dotted and the color is similar to the cap. The cap is scaly and has fibrillose. The spores are brownish when they are young. The spore print is dark olive brown to brown. The species stains fingers blue. ''Suillus variegatus'' and ''suillus reticulatus'' are similar to this species. The species can be distinguished between other species in this genus because fibrillose-scaly surface of the cap.

Habitat

The species is commonly found in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. It is less common in the lake states. The species fruits in the summer in the Rocky Mountains. Also, the species fruits in autumn along the Pacific coast and in the lake states. The species is by itself or scattered in mixed forests. The species can commonly be found under lodgepole pines or other two-needle pines. It is rarely found under jack pines.

''Suillus tomentosus'' forms tuberculate ectomycorrhizae with lodgepole pine . Recent work has shown that acetylene is reduced by the nodules which means that nitrogen is being fixed by bacteria within the nodules. This system is functionally similar to the root nodules in legumes like clover. Lodgepole pine can be found growing on gravel pits or other extremely nitrogen deficient soils. Lodgepole pine with its ''S. tomentosus'' symbiont is one of the most common pioneer species in northern forests. It colonizes highly disturbed soils and creates an environment suitable for other species to colonize.