The Urban Pantheist

These boletes, infected with what is probably Hypomyces chrysospermus were growing at the base of one of the eastern white pines in my yard.

Hypomyces chrysospermus is a fungus that feeds on other fungi. It has a preference for bolete mushrooms--those with porous undersides rather than gills--first attacking the spore-bearing surface with a white mold. After the mold has consumed the mushroom, its tissue turns bright yellow, the color of its own spore-producing cells.

A related mold, H. lactifluorum attacks Russula and Lactarius mushrooms, turning them into the sought-after edible called "lobster mushrooms." Boletes parasitized by golden bolete mold are not considered edible.