BOLBITACEAE

Bolbitus including Pluteolus (Fr.)Gill.(Mos. 3.8.5): Pileus viscid, plicate-striate at maturity, brachybasidioles in hymenium; soft and ± collapsing; spore deposit orangey to bright rusty brown.  (Pluteolus supposedly had less dissolving gills; such a macroscopic feature no longer has taxonomic status).  

vitellinus (Pers)Fr   SSW 232; Kauf 504; Aud 559,51; McK 307,38;

Grah 313,42-10; M.222; Ar2 474-5;      (GSM)

slimy,y.-grn.y. disk ± orange, also described as  “egg-yellow umbo”, tuberculate-striate,mrg. ±splits,3-7;sp.12-15x6-7,weakly truncate; stem 6-12x.4-.8,fragile,yellow; cystdea present ;

  var. titubans     Ce5 2210; BBF 72key; Da 587;

  var. fragilis Fr. (L)Quel.    Kauf 503; Grah 313,42-11; Bon 260;

±viscid, lt.y, umbo sl. deeper, margin striate, 2-5 sp.11-13x6-7;stem 7-9x.2-.3, y.; gills yellow to sordid pale cinnamon

 

Bolbitus vitellinus 7/1//92 Fer.-Baug. IN  (both)

Bolbitus vitellinus 9/7/91, near Tomahawk, Lincoln Co.

Pluteolus expansus Pk = Galera expansus Pk.  Pk26'72,58;Pk46'92,139;

Kauf XCVIII,507; Grah 42-15;

viscid, cinnamon-ocher,  tinged brown or green, 3-6, plicatulate; spores 10-12x7.5 µ; stem 5-10x.2-.6, citron yellow; no yellow umbo or center of cap

I suppose that this is considered just an alternate name for vitellinus today.  I nonetheless assigned one of my pictures to this “species”:

Pleuteolus expansus  5/30/83  U.W. Arboretum near Nakoma Rd., Madison

aleuriatus(Fr. : Fr.)Karst. [Kauf. calls it: aleuriatus gracilis Pk Pk54'00,149]   

Kauf 506; Grah 42-14; Phi 120; Ce4 1741; Ar2 475; `  (GSM)

lilac gray, viscid, striate, 1.5-4; gills white to pink to cinnamon.; spores 9-10.5x4-5 µ; stem 2.5-4x.2-.3, white, ± swollen base

    This species was first described by Fries in 1822.  Peck described the American material as a new variety, Pluteolus aleuriatus var. gracilis (Peck) in his 54th report (for 1900), from Westport, NY in October, saying it is darker in color with deeper and longer striations of the margin, and more highly colored spores than the European material.  Photographs of European material (Cetto, Vol. 5, 1741; Phillips 180) are indeed lighter, and colored more yellow-brown than the material I have found.  Kauffman notes (1918) that Ricken discarded Pluteolus, absorbing it into Bolbitus, but he argues on the basis of macroscopic characters for keeping both genera.  He lost that battle. Since macroscopic characters appear to no longer have any taxonomic standing, modern books make the species Bolbitus (Fr. : Fr.)Karsten.  Kauffman lists it as rare, July, Bay View, MI.  I am always pleased to find anything that Kauffman calls rare, because it generally is in Wisconsin too (Kauffman described Michigan material).  Graham (based in Chicago) shows a line drawing, but does not include it in his text, making me suspect he had not seen it.  This species has disappeared from most American books since color photography took over, because it is not common enough (books exceeding 1000 species are scarce as hen's teeth, and almost always try to cover far too large an area to boost sales). Most authors no longer mention things they cannot illustrate.  David Arora describes it as being rather common but overlooked in oak woods in California in the fall and winter, and shows a B&W photo of tired material.  Around here, it appears to be a spring to early summer mushroom.  I have found it five times, twice in May (18/86, Pike's Peak S.P near McGregor, IA, and 26/91 at Pine Glen by Devil's Lake S.P, Sauk Co.), twice in June (11/95 at the Madison school forest in Verona, Dane Co., and also 11/00 at Astico C.P, Dodge Co.), and once in July (19/92 at Warren's Wood, MI).  Three of these sites recognized as being among the best oak forests in the middle west.  I am old-fashioned enough to prefer to still call this genus Pluteolus (the diminutive of Pluteus) because three times out of the five, I thought it was a small Pluteus with an unusually viscid cap, but it appears to arise from soil, which is unusual for a Pluteus, they aren't that viscid, and the spore color makes its identity clear.  I am pleased to say that I am learning, and the most recent time, I was quite certain what it was before I took the spore print.

Bolbitus spp. 'red brown'  8/3/91 Wyalusing S.P. Grant Co.

This is the wrong color for American B. aleuriatus, but appears similar otherwise.  I suppose it may be, since color is also a macroscopic character that is often ignored now.

 

Bolbitus aleuriatus

6/11/00  Astico Dodge Co. Pk. 5/18/86  Pike's Peak S.P. IA

Bolbitus aleuriatus  (with Ceratiomyxa slime mold)  7/19/92  Warren's Wood, MI

 

Bolbitus aleuriatus  c.f. 9/24/99       Bolbitus aleuriatus  9/16/04, Newport S.P.

Mauthe Lake, N. Kettle   Found it a sixth (and seventh) time in 2004.

Is this the same?  Looks like it to me.

Bolbitus aleuriatus Hokkaido Shrine, Sapporo, Japan  7/7/04

I was pleased to see something I recognized in Japan, although I did not look under a microscope.

Somewhat ominously, I have not seen it listed in Japanese books that I have.

reticulatis (Fr.)Rick. = Pluteolus r. Pers.  Pk44'90,131;Pk46'92,140; Kauf XCIX,508;

BBF 72key;        (GSM)

glutinous fresh, violaceus gray to pale, livid-blk.ish disk, 2-5;sp.9-11x5-6,rusty brn;stem 3-6x.2-.6, wht.; gills rusty cinnamon

Bolbitus reticulatus  9/27/97  Natural Bridge S.P.  Sauk Co.

sordidus G.C. Lloyd     SSW 232; BBF 72key;

slimy, white, conic to campanulate-plane, 2-4, to sp. sulcate-striate margin; sp.8-10.5x5-6; stem 3-8x.4-.6,fragile, white; gills white to pale ochraceous tawny

 

Bolbitus c.f. sordidus  6/18/95 Whitefish Dune S.P. Door Co. (both)

Conocybe lactea (Lge)Metrod = Galera lateritia(Fr.)Kühn.=Bolbitus tener Bk.&Br.

 Galera lateritia var. albicolor Pk.  n.var. Pk52'98,655;

creamy-wht.,± buff disk, 1-2.5,1-1.5 high, conic, margin usu.flared; sp.12-16x7-9, trunc; stem 4-8x.15-.2, whitish, very fragile;

SSW 236; Kauf 496; Grah 315,42-6; Aud 560,5; M.220; Pk23'69,93; McK 308,38;

Hard 278; Ph2 185; SoW 204; BBF 98+; KS:

[Bolbitus tener:Kauf 503; Grah 312,42-12;]; Ar2 473; Pk46'92,142(as Galera lat.Fr.);

 

Bolbitus tener  5/18/86  Y. River S.F. IA  Bolbitus tener  6/3/91 Governor Dodge S.P. Iowa Co.

Although this little grass-loving species was a Bolbitus for Kauffman in 1918, I think it is now a Conocybe, which is where Galera has been relegated.  In fact, Kauffman specifically separated Bolbitus tener from Galera laterita, but only on macroscopic grounds that are now considered not to have taxonomic status; it grows in grass, in wet weather, and fades and collapses in a few hours.  The Galera name was used for more substantial versions that are now considered ecological variants, I believe.  I think these are what Kauffman called B. tener.