Suillus americanus is edible, although opinions vary as to its palatability; some susceptible individuals may suffer a contact dermatitis after touching the fruit bodies.

Suillus americanus was first described scientifically by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck in 1888,[2] based on specimens he had originally collected as far back as 1869, in New York state, near Sand Lake, Albany, and Port Jefferson.

[4] In 1931, French mycologist Édouard-Jean Gilbert transferred the species to the genus Ixocomus,[5] a now-defunct taxon that has since been subsumed into Suillus.

[7] In his 1986 version of the authoritative monograph The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy, Singer included the species in the subsection Latiporini of genus Suillus, an infrageneric grouping (below the taxonomic level of genus) characterized by a cinnamon-colored spore print without an olive tinge, and wide pores, typically greater than 1 mm when mature.

[12] The cap is typically between 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) in diameter, broadly convex with a small umbo (a central elevation) to flat with age.

The cap margin is curved inwards in young specimens, and may have remnants of a yellowish, cottony veil hanging from it.

When the fruit body is young and moist, the surface is slimy; as the cap matures and dries out, it becomes sticky or tacky.

[7] As is the case with all boletes, spores form on the inner surfaces of the tubes and sift through their openings to be borne away on the air currents outside.

[4] The pleurocystidia (cystidia found on the sides of a gill) range in shape from cylindrical to club-shaped and are arranged in bundles.

[16] One field guide suggests it has a "distinctive lemony tang",[17] and another says, "The yellow cap may remind you of chicken fat; it has a wonderfully savory mushroom flavor.

[10] One cookbook author suggests that the mushroom is ideal for spreads, for use on bread or as a dip; baking the fruit bodies in an oven will dry them for future use, and concentrate the flavor.

[20] One field guide suggests that Suillus sibiricus has a thicker stem than S. americanus, brown spots on the cap, and is a darker, more dingy yellow.

[21] Another lookalike species is Suillus subaureus, which can be distinguished microscopically by slightly smaller, hyaline (translucent) spores (typically 7.5–8.5 by 3 μm), and an association with Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides).