Slippery Jack, Suillus luteus
Description
The Slippery Jack gets it's name from the sticky glutinous film that covers the cap. It is also one of the few boletes with a veil that covers the yellow, tightly-packed pores of the mushroom, which later breaks away to form a skirt. Slippery Jacks are a common mushroom that are often found in close association with pine. Like their close relative, the Larch Bolete, Slippery Jacks have a mild taste, but the sticky film that covers the cap needs to be peeled-off and discarded before cooking as it can cause gastric upset in some people. This fiddly task often makes the effort far greater than the reward, although it can be dried and used in mixed mushroom recipes.
In younger specimens the veil completely covers the pores under the cap.
As the cap expands, the veil breaks, leaving a skirt on the stem.
Slippery Jack Checklist
Habitat
🌳 Deciduous Woodland
🌲 Coniferous Woodland
🔗 Found in association with pine.
Fruiting Season
🌞🍂 Between August and September
Growth Habit
📈 Grows singly, in small clusters, and sometimes rings.
Cap
🍄 The cap is brown or purple-brown and glutinous (sticky), starting convex, but flattening out later.
Gills
⚛️ No gills. This mushroom has tightly-packed, yellow pores that are covered with a veil when young. As the mushroom expands, the veil breaks, leaving a skirt on the stem.
Stem
♊️ White, stout, and bulbous at the base. Covered in brown spots below the skirt. The stem houses a skirt, the remnans of the veil that covers the pores when the mushroom is young. This is one of the few boletes with a skirt.
Flesh
⚪️ The flesh is thick, white and somewhat spongy.
Staining
🟪 There is often some purple colouration at the base of the stem.
Edible Parts
🍄 Cap. The sticky glutinous film covering the cap should be removed before cooking.
♊️ Stem
Aroma / Taste
👃 Smells rather sweet.
👅 mild mushroom taste.
ID Notes
🟩 ID Difficulty - Beginner
👀 As one of the few boletes with a veil and skirt, these are also a key identifying feature.
🤚 Like it's relative, the Larch Bolete, this mushroom has a glutinous, sticky cap, which is a key identifying feature.
⛔️ Like it's relative the Larch Bolete, the sticky film covering the cap has been reported to cause gastric upsets and should therefore be removed before cooking.
Uses
🍄 Fungi - Used in mushroom recipes.