About this fungus
Alaskan Scaber-stalk is a fungus in the Boletaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
An orange-brown northern bolete with a pale pore surface and the rough dark stem dots typical of scaber-stalks.
What to check
Record every nearby potential host, pore bruising, flesh colour changes and the colour and arrangement of stem scabers. Preserve material for microscopy where possible.
Variation
Cap colour shifts from yellow-brown to deeper orange or red-brown. Stem scabers darken with age and cut flesh may change slowly.
Lookalikes
Orange-capped Leccinum species overlap strongly in the field. Host tree, geography, cap cuticle and microscopic characters all matter, and older North American names have been applied broadly.
Habitat and range
A boreal and subarctic North American taxon centred on Alaska, reported particularly with birch. Records well outside this region need careful review.
Food safety
Edibility is uncertain or disputed.
Photographs
Photo: Jason Grant · CC BY 4.0