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Suillus salmonicolor, the slippery Jill, is a fungus in the family Suillaceae. Its mushrooms appear scattered or in groups on the ground near the roots of pine trees, because the fungus exchanges nutrients with the roots in a mutually beneficial mycorrhizal association. It is found in North America (including Hawaii), Asia, the Caribbean, South Africa, Australia and Central America. The mushroom's dingy yellow to brownish cap, up to 9.5 cm (3.7 in) wide, can be rounded or flattened, and is slimy when wet. The small yellow pores on its underside become olive-brown with age. The stem is up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long and 1.6 cm (0.6 in) thick and is covered with reddish-brown glandular dots. Young specimens are covered with a grayish, slimy partial veil that later ruptures, leaving a sheathlike ring on the stem. Although the mushroom is generally considered edible—especially if the slimy cap cuticle and partial veil are first peeled off—opinions about its palatability vary. Similar species include S. acidus, S. subalutaceus, and S. intermedius. (Full article...)
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Elena Hight
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