Chroogomphus rutilis

Photographer

Nathan Wilson

Common Name

Pine-spike

Location

Central coastal California under pine

Time

Late 1993

Habitat

Pine forests and around planted pines in urban areas. Frequently found growing with various speices of Suillus.

Comments

Telling the difference between some of the species of Chroogomphus can be quite challenging and really requires a microscope to do correctly -- e.g. C. rutilis has thicker walled pleurocystidia (some of the cells on edges of the gills) than C. vinicolor.
However, all Chroogomphus species are edible, though they tend to be a bit slimy if cooked fresh. They are better dried and added to soups or sauces.

Processing

Original image was taken on 35mm Fuji Velvia using a Nikon 55mm macro lens. The image was scanned on a Power Mac 8100/100 using a Microtek ScanMaker 35t slide scanner and Adobe Photoshop.

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