A corky tooth fungus whose velvety young cap is whitish with a bluish tint, fading to dingy tan or brown. The stem is orange, at least in its lower or buried part, and the flesh is zoned with blue and brown. It grows on the ground mainly under conifers and is inedible but valued by mushroom dyers.
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Habitat
Ectomycorrhizal, mainly with conifers such as pine and spruce, and with live oaks and other hardwoods in coastal California and on the Gulf Coast; alone or in groups in humus. Summer and fall, or over winter in warm areas. Its mycelium can persist in soil for several years after fruiting stops (Wikipedia).
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Widely distributed in North America and Europe; also temperate Asia (Wikipedia; MushroomExpert).
Characteristics
Cap: 3-15 cm, convex to flat or shallowly depressed, somewhat velvety; whitish with a bluish tint when young, fading to dingy tan or brown; pale margin may bruise blue. Spines: crowded, 3-6 mm long, whitish to pale gray when young, becoming brownish, running down the stem. Stem: 2-5 cm long, 1-3 cm thick, mostly cylindrical, orange to orangish, the color often only a coating on the lower or underground part. Flesh: tough but pliable, whitish to orangish or brownish with zones of blue or brown; KOH olive green to blackish or purplish black. Odor and taste: mealy. Spore print: brown. Spores: 5-6.5 x 4.5-5.5 µm, subglobose to irregular, with low warts; clamp connections absent (MushroomExpert).
