Brownish Chroogomphus

Description

The copper spike (also called the sticky spike) has a cap 4–15 cm across, copper-brown, thick and fleshy, strongly slimy in wet weather and smooth and glossy in dry weather. The gills are widely spaced, thick, strongly decurrent on the stem, copper-grey at first, then dark purple-brown. The stem is long and copper-orange; after pressing, the flesh turns carmine after some time.

It grows on the ground in coniferous and mixed forests, under pines, firs and mountain pine, from July to November. It is common in Poland.

Inexperienced mushroom pickers should not collect it, because it can be confused with the highly poisonous webcaps (deadly and fool's webcap). If you are not sure of the species, do not pick or eat it.

Identification features

Cap

Diameter 4–15 cm. Young convex with an inrolled margin, copper-brown, then slightly faded; old flattened. Strongly slimy when wet, smooth and glossy when dry; very thick and fleshy. Young fruiting bodies are surrounded by a cobweb-like veil.

Hymenophore (underside of the cap)

Gills very thick and widely spaced, often forked, strongly decurrent on the stem; first copper-grey, dark purple-brown when mature.

Stem

Long, slender, fleshy, copper-orange to yellowish-brown, with a delicate zigzag pattern from the ochre veil; in the dry state sometimes with a thickened ring zone.

Flesh

Orange-yellow, after pressing it turns carmine after some time; chrome-yellow at the stem base. No smell, mild taste. We do not recommend tasting the flesh as an identification method.

Spore print and spores

Spore print olive-black. Spores elongated, ellipsoid-spindle-shaped, smooth, brownish-yellow, 17–23 × 5.5–7 µm.

Habitat and distribution

Ecology. A mycorrhizal fungus (ectomycorrhiza with pines Pinus). Grows on the ground in coniferous and mixed forests, under silver fir, Scots pine and mountain pine.

Distribution. Widely distributed in North America and Europe, with sites also in Korea and Japan. Common in Poland. It is not legally protected in Poland.

Fruiting. From July to November.

What can it be confused with?

• Chroogomphus helveticus (Alpine spike) — Cap felty (not slimy).
• Cortinarius rubellus (deadly webcap) and Cortinarius orellanus (fool's webcap) — Highly poisonous (deadly). The spike is sometimes confused with them by less experienced mushroom pickers; webcaps have a rusty-brown spore print and a cobweb-like veil (cortina) instead of slime.
• Gomphidius glutinosus (slimy spike) — Cap slippery, violet-grey to brown; the copper spike is not slimy and has a reddish-brown cap.

Never rely on a single feature. If you are not sure — do not pick it; show the mushroom to a qualified mushroom expert.

Interesting facts

• After pressing, the flesh turns carmine after some time.
• The copper spike lives in ectomycorrhiza with pines; it occurs in Europe and North America, and there are also sites in Korea and Japan.
• The species was described in 1774 by Jacob Christian Schäffer as Agaricus rutilus; it was transferred to the genus Chroogomphus by Orson K. Miller Jr. in 1964.
• The English names are “brown slimecap” and “copper spike”.