How to identify Pine Spike

To correctly identify Pine Spike (Chroogomphus rutilus), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   The cap is typically 4-12 cm in diameter, convex to broadly convex or nearly flat with age, often with a central umbo. The color ranges from reddish-brown, coppery-orange, to purplish-brown. The surface is smooth, viscid or slimy when moist, and shiny when dry. The margin is often inrolled when young and may have remnants of the partial veil.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   The gills are decurrent (running down the stem), widely spaced, thick, and waxy. They are initially grayish-orange to yellowish-orange, becoming smoky gray to blackish-brown with age as spores mature. They are often forked near the stem.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   The stem is 4-12 cm long and 1-2.5 cm thick, tapering towards the base or sometimes nearly cylindrical. It is concolorous with the cap or slightly paler, often with a yellowish base. The surface is smooth or finely fibrillose, and a faint, often incomplete, ring or fibrillose zone may be present from the partial veil, which is often glutinous. The stem is solid.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   The flesh is thick, firm, and yellowish-orange to reddish-orange, sometimes staining slightly reddish when cut. It has a mild taste and no distinctive odor.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   The fruiting body is agaricoid, meaning it has a cap and stem with gills.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Chroogomphus rutilus is mycorrhizal, forming a symbiotic relationship with pine trees (Pinus species). It is found growing solitarily or scattered on the ground in coniferous forests, particularly under pines.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Viscid (slimy) when moist, shiny when dry

Growth Form

Solitary to scattered

Spore Print

Smoky gray to blackish-brown

Body color

Reddish-brown, coppery-orange, purplish-brown

Odor

Mild

Flesh bruises

No significant bruising, sometimes slightly reddish

Height

4-12 cm

Cap Diameter

4-12 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Decurrent
• Stem shape: Cylindrical to tapering towards base
• Stem surface: Smooth or finely fibrillose, often with a glutinous partial veil zone
• Ring: Faint, often incomplete, fibrillose zone or glutinous ring from partial veil
• Stem cross-section: Solid

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