BOLETUS TOMENTIPES Earle, Bull. N. Y. Botan. Garden 3:298. 1904
Ceriomyces tomentipes Murrill, Mycologia 1:154. 1909.

"Pileus thick, convex to expanded, 9-13 cm broad, about 3 cm thick; surface dry, minutely tomentose to glabrous, umbrinous; context whitish or discolored, changing to blue when wounded; hymenium ventricose, deeply and broadly sinuate-depressed, decurrent; tubes sordid-yellow, becoming brick-red when wounded or on drying, mouths small, about 1 mm broad, circular; spores ellipsoid, brownish, about 14 X 7 µm; stipe cylindric, densely but minutely velvety-pubescent, sometimes becoming nearly glabrous above, brick-red, flecked brown below, solid, 8-13 cm long, 2.5-3.5 cm thick.
"Found only at Stanford University, California, among decaying oak leaves."

The above is a copy of the original description. As far as can be determined, no recent collections of this bolete have been made. Through the courtesy of Dr. Clark Rogerson of the New York Botanical Garden, the type and one additional collection have been examined.

There are two packets labeled "Type." The label on one, handwritten, has No. 132, "collected by C. F. Baker, Nov. 30, 1901." The second packet has a more recent label of the New York Botanical Garden, is stamped "Type," and is labeled Ceriomyces tomentipes. A third collection, not labeled "Type" and with a label headed "Pacific Slope Fungi," distributed by C. F. Baker, has the No. 132 and is presumably part of the type collection. The label on this last collection has the following additional information on it: "Collected in foothills near Stanford University, Santa Clara County, California, Nov. 30, 1901. Coll. C. F. Baker." "Frequent among decaying leaves under oak trees." "Well marked by its velvety, opaque brown pileus, the yellowish to brick red pores and the flesh changing to fine blue." The following additional notes are included in the packet:

"Habitat: decaying leaves.
"Size: 9-13 cm in diameter, 3 cm thick.
"Color of pileus-clear brown, opaque.
"Surface with a glaucous, almost velvety appearance.
"Margin entire.
"Pore attachment-deeply, suddenly and broadly sinuate, then slightly decurrent.
"Shape of pores-small.
"Color of pores-sordid yellowish becoming brick red when bruised and in drying.
"Spores-brownish, 14 X 7 µm.
"Veil none. Annulus none.
"Stipe 8-13 cm long, 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter.
"Shape: cylindrical.
"Surface smooth.
"Color brick red, finely speckled with brown below, solid.
"No volva.
"Flesh white to brownish, changes to a fine blue when bruised.
"Taste and smell-as a normal agaric.
"A magnificent boletus.

The collections, generally, appear as if they were poorly dried, are some shade of brown, and show none of the colors indicated for fresh basidiocarps.

A microscopic examination of the type was made and yielded the following additional data: spores ochraceous in KOH, 12-14 X 5-6 µm fusoid to subellipsoid in face view, inequilateral in profile, thin-walled, not dextrinoid or amyloid. Cystidia 23-25 X 7-9 µm fusoid to fusoid-ventricose, hyaline, thin-walled. Tube trama divergent, hyaline. Pileus trama interwoven, homogeneous. Pileus cuticle differentiated as a trichodermium of tangled to repent hyphae. Clamp connections absent.

Although no recent collections of B. tomentipes are known, its description is included here in the hope that this interesting fungus might be rediscovered. The brick-red discoloration of the tubes when bruised or dried is a most distinctive feature.

Edibility unknown.

The Boletes of California
Copyright © 1975 by Dr. Harry D. Thiers
Additional content for the online edition © 1998 by Michael Wood, Fred Stevens, & Michael Boom
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