Phellodon violascens  

Bankera fulingineoalba1010440

Phellodon violascens (Alb. & Schwein.) A.M. Ainsw. 2019 (Bankera violascens) 

I was walking with a noted mycologist in late October when we found this unusual fungus. He declared it was a Boletopsis and I concured. However, unlike Boletopsis species, this fruiting body has spines. This is a species of Phellodon. There are a relatively few species in our part of the world and it is difficult to find detailed descriptions of them. This one in any case was growing in a mixed deciduous and conifer forest with lots of pine. It has a pale tannish cap and a central stem. Its fertile surface is covered in whitish spines that rung down the stipe and appear to turn grayish. This specimen appears to be a young representative of the genus. Fungi in the Bankeraceae family are stipitate and most have spines on the cap underside. They form mycorrhizal associations with mature broadleaf or conifer trees. They are in the Bankeraceae family of the Thelephorales order.

Bankera fulingineoalba1010442

Bankera violascens

Bankera violacea  with central stalk 01790

Bankera violascens