Velvet Roll-rim; Velvet-footed Tap
This unmistakable and handsome species has no look-alikes. It is a large species, reaching up to 10 inches across, but has a short and thick stalk of no more than 4 inches tall and up to 2 inches broad. It grows in summer and fall often in dry weather when little else is fruiting and can persist a long time. It is a saprobe that dines on decaying conifer logs and stumps. What makes it so distinctive is a combination of features that include a lateral stipe, dark and velvety stalk, and decurrent gills that can easily be peeled off, unlike most gilled species. Moreover, though a gilled fungus it is in the order Boletales, but with a small family, the Tapinellaceae. The caps are nut brown, convex initially but becoming plane, and often centrally depressed. The inrolled margin is retained until late in its life cycle. The gills are creamy white, becoming brownish or yellowish and deeply decurrent. It is a much studied mushroom. Many of its chemicals have been isolated, with the chemical atromentin responsible for the brown coloration and fulvomentin for any yellowish tones. It is bitter-tasting, but when properly prepared some people can and do eat it. For most it causes indigestion.