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Boletinellus merulioides
Remember that green ash tree I posted a few months back? This sprung up under them! Look how weird these little guys are. The ash tree bolette is per the name, a bolette type of mushroom with a relationship to ash trees. I love the shape of these guys with their irregular pores and off center stems. The ash tree bolette does not have a mycorrhizal relationship with ash trees however, but a symbiotic relationship with one of their parasites, the ashcurl leaf aphid. The ashcurl aphid is surrounded by sclerotia produced by the mushroom and the honeydew from the aphid gives nutrients to the mushroom. Meanwhile the aphid goes to town on the ash tree.
Widespread from the Eastern US to parts of the Southeast.
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