''Suillus grevillei'', commonly known as tamarack jack, Greville's bolete, or larch bolete, is a

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

l mushroom with a tight, brilliantly coloured cap, shiny and wet looking with its mucous slime layer. The

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...

easily separates from the

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, ...

of the cap, with a central stalk that is quite slender. The species has a

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

or a tight-fitting annular zone.

Etymology

The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

is derived from

Robert Kaye Greville Dr. Robert Kaye Greville FRSE FLS LLD (13 December 1794 – 4 June 1866) was an England, English mycologist, bryology, bryologist, and botanist. He was an accomplished artist and illustrator of natural history. In addition to art and scien ...

Description

''Suillus grevillei'' is a mushroom with a 5–10 cm (2–4 in)

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

colored from citrus yellow to burnt orange, that is at first hemispherical, then bell-shaped, and finally flattened. It has a sticky

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

, often with

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

remnants on the edge, short tubes of yellow (possibly staining brownish) which descend down to the bottom of its cylindrical stalk (6–10 x 1–2 cm), which is yellowish above the

area with streaks of reddish brown below. The flesh is yellow, staining brown. The thin meat has consistency at first but then quickly becomes soft. It has an odor reminiscent of rumpled ''

Pelargonium ''Pelargonium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennial plant, perennials, succulent plant, succulents, and shrubs, common name, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. ''Geranium'' is also ...

'' geranium leaves.

Habitat and distribution

It grows only under

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

trees. Widespread in North America and Europe (July–November). In Asia, it has been recorded from Taiwan.

Edibility

''Suillus grevillei'' can be cooked as an

edible mushroom Edible mushrooms are the fleshy fruit bodies of numerous species of macrofungi (fungi that bear fruiting structures large enough to be seen with the naked eye). Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effect ...

(without consistency nor flavor) if the slimy cuticle is removed off the cap. This mucousy skin layer is what is known to cause intestinal issues, as is the case with several other ''Suillus'' such as ''S. luteus'' (slippery jack) or ''S. salmonicolor'' (slippery Jill); often considered to be not worth the work.

Chemistry

The fungus produces grevillin which is characteristic of this fungus. The genetic and enzymatic basis for

atromentin Atromentin is a natural chemical compound found in Agaricomycetes fungi in the orders Agaricales and Thelephorales. It can also be prepared by laboratory synthesis. Chemically, it is a polyphenol and a benzoquinone. Occurrences Atromentin has ...

, the precursor to various pulvinic acid-type pigments, has been characterized (an atromentin synthetase by the name, GreA). A cosmid library (31 249 bp in total) has been made from the genome. The estimated gene density based on the cosmid library is 1 per 3900 bp of genomic DNA. The genome has a GC content of 49.8%.

References

Works in French

* Régis Courtecuisse, Bernard Duhem : ''Guide des champignons de France et d'Europe'' (Delachaux & Niestlé, 1994-2000). * Marcel Bon : ''Champignons de France et d'Europe occidentale'' (Flammarion, 2004) * Dr Ewaldt Gerhardt : ''Guide Vigot des champignons'' (Vigot, 1999) - * Roger Phillips : ''Les champignons'' (Solar, 1981) - * Thomas Laessoe, Anna Del Conte : ''L'Encyclopédie des champignons'' (Bordas, 1996) - * Peter Jordan, Steven Wheeler : ''Larousse saveurs - Les champignons'' (Larousse, 1996) - * G. Becker, Dr L. Giacomoni, J Nicot, S. Pautot, G. Redeuihl, G. Branchu, D. Hartog, A. Herubel, H. Marxmuller, U. Millot et C. Schaeffner : ''Le guide des hampignons'' (Reader's Digest, 1982) - * Henri Romagnesi : ''Petit atlas des champignons'' (Bordas, 1970) -

External links

* * Baura G, Szaro TM, Bruns TD. 1992
''Gastrosuillus laricinius'' is a recent derivative of ''Suillus grevillei'': molecular evidence.
''

Mycologia ''Mycologia'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes papers on all aspects of the fungi, including lichens. It first appeared as a bimonthly journal in January 1909, published by the New York Botanical Garden under the editorship of W ...

'' 84(4): 592–597. {{Taxonbar, from=Q833108 grevillei Fungi of Asia Fungi of Europe Edible fungi Fungi described in 1945 Fungus species