A small, drab western slippery jack with a viscid, buff to pale olive-gray cap that is often spotted or streaked rusty brown and sometimes has a low umbo. Its distinctive feature is a membranous, viscid, translucent buff-brown ring that is usually pressed against the upper stem. It grows with beach (shore) pine.
Solitary to gregarious in conifer woods; believed to be mycorrhizal with beach (shore) pine, Pinus contorta. In coastal California it fruits from late fall to midwinter.
Distribution
Western North America (MushroomExpert key); in California relatively common north of San Francisco along the Mendocino coast (MykoWeb).
Characteristics
Cap: 2-8 cm, convex to plano-convex, sometimes with a low umbo; viscid when moist; buff to pale olive-gray, often spotted or streaked rusty brown. Pores: dull ochraceous, angular to elongated, up to 2 mm long, not discoloring when bruised; tubes 0.4-1 cm. Stem: 2-5 cm long, 0.5-1 cm thick; apex ochraceous and striate or faintly reticulate, pallid below, developing brownish glandular dots or bruises. Ring: membranous-viscid, translucent buff-brown, ragged, usually appressed to the stem and stained by spores. Flesh: pale dingy buff, darkening slightly and developing dull vinaceous tones when cut. Odor: harsh, like S. pungens. Taste: mild. Spore print: brownish olive. Spores: 8-10 x 3.5-4 um, smooth, narrowly elliptical to subfusiform.
