Sarcodon squamosus (Schaeff.) Quel.
No common name
Bankeraceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
No common name
Bankeraceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
Photograph
Species Information
Summary:
Features include 1) a vinaceous to brown cap that is often dark vinaceous brown to purplish black, 2) a dry, scaly cap surface that often become slightly depressed, 3) spines that are beige to grayish, becoming grayish brown with paler tips, and finally all brown, 4) a beige to pale dingy brown stem that stains brown when handled (base is often dark brown but not bluish, even inside), and 5) growth under conifers, particularly pine. Sarcodon squamosus used to be considered a variant of Sarcodon imbricatus (see SIMILAR here and NOTES under Sarcodon imbricatus for further information). Sarcodon squamosus dyes wool bluish green (Siegel(2)). Sarcodon imbricatus only gives wool a grayish beige color, (Siegel(2)). The description is derived from Siegel(2).
Chemical Reactions:
KOH no reaction
Odor:
indistinct
Taste:
mild, "or occasionally slightly bitter-farinaceous and/or astringent"
Microscopic:
spores 7-8 x 5-6.5 microns, nearly round or elliptic "with blunt, irregular projections"
Spore Deposit:
brown
Notes:
Sarcodon squamosus occurs in BC (Ian Gibson, pers. comm.) and herbarium collections are likely deposited as Sarcodon imbricatus, of which S. squamosus was considered a synonym. It also occurs in CA (Siegel(2)), and probably in Washington and Oregon.
EDIBILITY
edible "but not recommended; often bitter and slightly astringent"
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Sarcodon imbricatus "often has a paler-colored cap with slightly larger scales", "tends to be sunken or depressed at the disc", "dyes wool wood a grayish beige color" (bluish green for S. squamosus), and in California prefers and is possibly restricted to Sitka spruce forest, (Siegel(2)). |Hydnellum scabrosum occurs under shore pine and may grow alongside S. squamosus - it has "a finely scaly or cracked, pinkish brown cap when young, becoming scalier and brown" when old, a bluish stem base, and a strongly bitter taste, (Siegel(2)). |Sarcodon rimosus has 1) "a smooth purplish gray blushed cap when young, which becomes brown and scaly in age", 2) short, whitish to lilac-gray spines that become grayish brown, 3) a strong farinaceous odor, 4) a slightly bitter, farinaceous taste, and 5) an olive-black KOH reaction on the cap, (Siegel(2)).Habitat
single or in scattered troops, "often forming arcs and rows on ground under conifers", especially pine on the North Coast [of California, also occurs with chinquapin in California]; early fall into winter in California
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Hydnum paradoxum Fr.
Polyporus versiporus Pers.