Strobilomyces strobilaceus - Old Man of the Woods

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Family: Boletaceae

Strobilomyces strobilaceus - Old Man of the Woods - is quite a rare find in the UK, partly no doubt because it is indeed scarce and occurs singly rather than in conspicuous groups and - perhaps more significantly - because this woodland species blends in so well with a background of dead leaves. In fact as the fruitbodies age they sometimes turn very dark and look more like rotting pine cones than fungi. You may come across this species listed in older reference books under its synonyms Strobilomyces floccopus, Boletus floccopus or Boletus strobiliformis.

This distinctive bolete is generally considered edible but of very limited culinary value. It is most often found in deciduous woods but does sometimes occur under conifers. The pictures shown above and below were taken in the USA by Nigel P Kent. (We are still rather impatiently awaiting our first UK sighting of Old Man of the Woods; we may have stepped on some but never knowingly!)

Identification Guide

Cap	Usually between 6 and 12cm in diameter but exceptionally approaching 20cm, the convex caps flatten out with age and are covered with upright blackish scales that are woolly when the caps are young, becoming firmer on ageing specimens. The underlying cap colour ranges from almost white through shades of greyish brown to almost entirely black.
Tubes and pores	The tubes have large pores that are pale grey at first, but when bruised they turn black.
Stem	1 to 2cm in diameter and typically 8 to 12cm tall, the stem is grey and covered with woolly scales.
Spore print	Black.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	In deciduous woodland and occasionally under conifers.
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Very infrequent in the UK, this mushroom is relatively common in many other northern European countries. It also occurs in the USA, Canada and Japan.
Similar species	None reported from the UK, but similar species from the genus Strobilomyces occur in some tropical regions of Africa.