vapour Posted February 15, 2006 can someone please help id this mushroom? it was found in a hilly jarrah forest, near a creek at the base of a tree. I'm guessing it's a bolete? the yellow pores turned blue when handled. i don't know whether a blue stain means anything but the taste was not bitter. also there were a few dozen larvae within the flesh, maybe some kind of small beetle or gnat. the closest match i can find is boletellus emodensis in fuhrer's field guide but all the pictures of emodensis on the web are pink. has anybody else seen a white emodensis? Or could it be something else entirely? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ajna Posted February 15, 2006 can't help with an id, but i have seen those before in SE qld forrests. the blue staining isn't an indication of psilocybin content with boletes, and you're a brave man to be taste-testing unidentified species! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet Posted February 15, 2006 I have also seen these growing in south east queensland at the base of trees in wet gullies near creeks. I think they were growing in association with scrub or brush box (Lophostemon confertus). The blue staining is amazing, as soon as you touch them. If you run your finger along the bright yellow pores you can see a trail of blue behind your finger. I'm not sure if they are edible and i wouldn't try and eat them. If you are inclined to taste them i wouldn't swallow any. Boletellus emodensis is the closest id i can get as well but i'm not convinced it is that species either, maybe another species of Boletellus. peace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
occidentalis Posted February 16, 2006 the blue staining isn't an indication of psilocybin content with boletes, and you're a brave man to be taste-testing unidentified species! Apparently people have tried this one with some effect - reportedly NOT due to psilo content though. And it was quite unpleasant psychologically from the sounds of things. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vapour Posted February 16, 2006 i thought there was no harm taste-testing - if you chew a little bit and spit it out it can give you useful information. the bluing is such a mysterious thing - there's very little consensus about these boletes on discussion boards and websites. people are claiming everything from edible and inactive to deadly poisonous. it would be weird if it was active, but due to something other than psilocin. alternately, could the staining reaction in psilos be due to some unknown compound shared with some boletes? i thought it tasted quite nice - although the maggots weren't too appetising. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet Posted February 16, 2006 Few boletes are toxic, very few are deadly so. I have heard of a case of someone dying after eating a Rubinoboletus near brisbane, the only case of someone dying from a bolete in Australia. You might wanna search online. They even had a photo of the shroom responsible. Not much is known about edibility or toxicity of most Australian mushrooms so it is better to be safe and don't swallow any. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vapour Posted February 17, 2006 i found something called the 'bolete rule' (http://www.mushroomexpert.com/rules_for_boletes.html) which states that "you can safely eat any bolete EXCEPT ones that turn blue when bruised and/or have a red or orange pore surface." but there are exceptions to the rule - see tom volk's fungus of the month website (http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/jul2003.html) where he talks about eating a delicious blue staining bolete and says "Remember the Bolete Rule, but also remember the limitations of the rule". I can see why ur advising to leave this one alone... tom volk also had some stuff about blueing: "A compound called variegatic acid remains colorless unless it is exposed to oxygen. The cell walls of Gyroporus cyanescens are easily broken, exposing the variegatic acid to the air. The oxygenase enzyme converts the variegatic acid to its quinone methide, which is blue. The possible functions of the variegatic acid and its color shifts are unknown." is the blueing in boletes more vivid and rapid than psilos? is it a totally unrelated chemical reaction that just looks a bit similar? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet Posted February 20, 2006 I have also seen those bolete rules but they are not meant for Australian boletus i don't think. Australian boletus might be quite different. I don't think the blue staining in psylos is related to the blue staining in the boletus, i think it is due to a totally unrelated chemical, but that is just my opinion. The blue staining in the boletus i found which looked the same as yours was much more rapid and vivid on the gills/pores when touched and when the flesh was split. But the cap surface didn't appear to stain blue though. More rapid and vivid than psilocybe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rev Posted February 20, 2006 I saw some seriously funky looking boletes in Far north qld in january of quite a few species ( Also found a Ganoderma lucidum at tully falls ) say does anyone have the description of the PNG boletes implicated by some authors in 'mushroom madness' itd be no suprise to me if they were present Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
