Clinton’s butterdish (Suillus clintonianus) photo and description

Clinton’s Buttercup (Suillus clintonianus)

• Clinton mushroom
• Belted butterdish
• Butter dish chestnut

This species was first described by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck and named after George William Clinton, a New York politician, amateur naturalist, head of the State Cabinet of Natural History. ) and at one time provided Peck with a job as chief botanist of New York. For some time, Clinton’s butterdish was considered synonymous with larch butterdish (Suillus grevillei), but in 1993 Finnish mycologists Mauri Korhonen, Jaakko Hyvonen and Teuvo Ahti in their work “Suillus grevillei and S. clintonianus ( Gomphidiaceae), two boletoid fungi associated with Larix” marked clear macro- and microscopic differences between them.

head 5-16 cm in diameter, conical or hemispherical when young, then flat-convex to open, usually with a wide tubercle; sometimes the edges of the cap can be strongly lifted up, because of which it takes on an almost funnel-shaped shape. Pileipellis (cap skin) is smooth, usually sticky, silky to the touch in dry weather, covered with a thick layer of mucus in wet weather, easily removed by about 2/3 of the cap radius, stains hands very much. The color is reddish-brown of varying degrees of intensity: from rather light shades to rich burgundy-chestnut, sometimes the center is slightly lighter, with yellowness; often a contrasting whitish or yellow edging is observed along the edge of the cap.

Hymenophore tubular, veiled when young, adnate or descending, first lemon yellow, then golden yellow, darkens to olive yellow and tan with age, slowly turning brown when damaged. Tubules up to 1,5 cm long, at a young age short and very dense, pores are small, rounded, up to 3 pcs. by 1 mm, with age increase to about 1 mm in diameter (no more) and become slightly angular.

Private bedspread in very young specimens it is yellowish, as it grows, it stretches in such a way that part of the pileipellis breaks off and remains on it. It looks like someone has drawn a brown sash on the film that connects the edge of the hat to the stem. Probably, the amateur epithet “belted” appeared thanks to this belt. The private spathe breaks off at the edge of the cap and remains on the stem in the form of a rather wide whitish-yellow flaky ring, covered in the upper part with a layer of brown mucus. With age, the ring becomes thinner and leaves behind only a sticky trace.

Leg 5-15 cm long and 1,5-2,5 cm thick, usually flat, cylindrical or slightly thickened towards the base, continuous, fibrous. The surface of the stem is yellow, almost along its entire length covered with small reddish-brown fibers and scales, arranged so densely that the yellow background is almost invisible. In the upper part of the stem, directly under the cap, there are no scales, but there is a mesh formed by the pores of the descending hymenophore. The ring formally divides the leg into a red-brown and yellow part, but can also be shifted down.

Pulp light orange-yellowish, greenish at the base of the stem, slowly turning red-brown on section, sometimes turning blue at the base of the stem. The taste and smell are mild and pleasant.

spore powder ocher to dark brown.

Споры ellipsoid, smooth, 8,5-12 * 3,5-4,5 microns, length to width ratio within 2,2-3,0. Color varies from almost hyaline (transparent) and straw yellow to pale reddish brown; inside with small red-brown granules.

Forms mycorrhiza with various types of larches.

Widely distributed in North America, especially in its western part, in the eastern part it usually gives way to larch butterdish.

On the territory of Europe, it was recorded in Finland in plantations of Siberian larch Larix sibirica. It is believed that he came to Finland from Our Country along with seedlings grown in the Lindulovskaya grove near the village of Roshchino (north-west direction from St. Petersburg). Also, the species is registered in Sweden, but there are no records from Denmark and Norway, but it is worth noting that European larch Larix decidua is usually planted in these countries. In the British Isles, Clinton’s buttercup is found under the hybrid larch Larix X marschlinsii. There are also reports of finds in the Faroe Islands and the Swiss Alps.

In Our Country, it is noted in the north of the European part, Siberia and the Far East, as well as in mountainous regions (Urals, Altai), everywhere confined to larch.

Fruits from July to September, in some places until October. It can coexist with other types of oil, confined to larch.

A good edible mushroom suitable for any kind of cooking.

Larch butterdish (Suillus grevillei)

– in general, a species very similar in habitus, the color of which is characterized by light golden-orange-yellow tones. In the color of the Clinton oiler, reddish-brown tones predominate. Microscopic differences are also evident: in the larch oiler, the hyales of the pileipellis are hyaline (glassy, ​​transparent), while in the Clinton butterdish they are with brown inlay. The size of the spores also differs: in the Clinton oiler they are larger, the average volume is 83 µm³ versus 52 µm³ in the larch butterdish.

Boletin glandularus – is also very similar. Differs in larger, up to 3 mm in length and up to 2,5 mm in width, irregularly shaped hymenophore pores. The Clinton oiler has a pore diameter of no more than 1 mm. This difference is most evident in adult mushrooms.