# Painted Suillus (*suillus spraguei*)

The Painted Suillus is a colorful mushroom that can be found in forests! Its bright colors can make it look like it's painted, which is why it gets its name.

- **Category:** [Fungi](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/fungi)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Habitat:** It lives in pine forests, often found on the forest floor.
- **Also known as:** Colorful Suillus, Forest Fungus, Painted Mushroom

![Painted Suillus](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Suillus_spraguei_58269.jpg&width=800)

Photo: William Tanneberger, CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suillus_spraguei_58269.jpg)

## Appearance

The Painted Suillus has a striking reddish-brown, shaggy cap covered in woolly scales, often with yellowish edges. Its underside features bright yellow pores that turn olive with age, and the stem is yellow, dotted with reddish granules or scales. This combination of shaggy red, yellow, and red-dotted elements makes it visually distinct.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Fungi
- **Phylum:** Basidiomycota
- **Class:** Agaricomycetes
- **Order:** Boletales
- **Family:** Suillaceae
- **Genus:** Suillus

## Interesting facts

- It loves to hang out only under pine and hemlock trees!
- Its bright red cap scales make it look like a tiny, fuzzy forest monster!
- This mushroom gets its scientific name from a famous botanist, Charles Sprague.
- Young Painted Suillus often have a veil that covers their pores, like a tiny skirt.

## Special abilities

- **Nutrient Power-Up:** Painted Suillus can help trees absorb more water and nutrients because it forms a special connection with their roots, like a secret helper.
- **Spore Spreader:** This mushroom has a superpower for spreading its spores far and wide, helping new Painted Suillus grow in other places in the forest!
- **Rain Shedder:** Its shaggy, scaly cap can help shed rainwater, protecting its delicate yellow pore surface underneath from getting damaged.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 5-12 cm
- **Edible:** edible
- **Size:** 5-15 cm
- **Growth Substrate:** soil
- **Season:** Late summer to fall
- **Spore Color:** Olive-brown

## Ecological connections

- **Symbiotic with:** [Eastern White Pine](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-white-pine) (*Pinus strobus*) — Helps tree absorb nutrients from soil.
- **Symbiotic with:** [Eastern Hemlock](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-hemlock) (*Tsuga canadensis*) — Forms a mutually beneficial root association.
- **Eaten by:** [Eastern Gray Squirrel](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-gray-squirrel) (*Sciurus carolinensis*) — Squirrels might forage on its fruiting bodies.

## Traits

- [Solitary](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/solitary): Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.
- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Decomposer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/decomposer): Describes organisms that break down dead organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.
- [Forest](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/forest): Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.

## Collections

- [Fungi](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/fungi)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Do not touch or eat wild mushrooms without adult supervision.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Painted Suillus?

Compare the cap shape, the underside, the stem and base, and whether the fungus grows on wood or soil. Some fungi have gills, others pores or teeth. A cap seen only from above often hides the most useful features. Mushroom Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is Painted Suillus?

5-12 cm

### Is Painted Suillus edible?

edible

### How big is Painted Suillus?

5-15 cm

### Where is Painted Suillus usually found?

It lives in pine forests, often found on the forest floor.

### What does Painted Suillus grow on?

soil

### When is Painted Suillus in season?

Late summer to fall

### What color are Painted Suillus spores?

Olive-brown

## Where to spot

- [Bear Meadows Natural Area](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/bear-meadows-natural-area) — Pennsylvania, US · Nature Reserve
- [Copicut Woods](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/copicut-woods) — Massachusetts, US · Nature Reserve
- [Rockywold-Deephaven Camps](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/rockywold-deephaven-camps) — New Hampshire, US · Historic District
- [Lower Madawaska River Provincial Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/lower-madawaska-river-provincial-park) — Ontario, CA · State Park

[View all places to see Painted Suillus](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/painted-suillus)

## More Fungi

- [Field Mushroom](https://www.snappit.app/explore/field-mushroom) (*Agaricus*)
- [Button Mushroom](https://www.snappit.app/explore/button-mushroom) (*Agaricus*)
- [Portobello Mushroom](https://www.snappit.app/explore/portobello-mushroom) (*Agaricus*)
- [Shiitake](https://www.snappit.app/explore/shiitake) (*Lentinula*)

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Source: [Painted Suillus: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/painted-suillus)