Old man of the woods
Strobilomyces strobilaceus · 松塔牛肝菌
Common牛肝菌科🍽 Reported Edible (Wild)
Reference sources describe this as an edible wild fungus. This guide provides no basis whatsoever for foraging or consumption.
The same species can be described differently across regions and stages of maturity, and countless look-alike species cannot be told apart by eye. Never use the information on this page to judge whether a real mushroom is safe to eat.
How to Tell
- Cap covered in coarse blackish gray scales, resembling a pine cone
- Stem also scaly; cap margin hung with veil fragments
- Pores white, bruising red then black
ID notes are compiled by AI from public sources, not reviewed by a mycologist, for learning only — never a basis for foraging.
Basics
- Family
- 牛肝菌科
- Hymenium
- Pores
- Grows On
- Mycorrhizal
- How Big
- 4–10 cm (cap diameter)
- Encounter Rate
- Common
- Habitat
- Ground in broadleaf woods
Easily Confused With
Shingled hedgehogShingled hedgehog has spines under the cap; the old man of the woods has pores that turn red, then black, when bruised.
Shaggy parasolShaggy parasol has white gills and a movable ring; the old man of the woods has pores and is grey-black all over.Fun Fact
Covered head to toe in rough, upturned black scales, it looks like a pine cone or a scruffy old man; slice into the flesh and it turns red, then black.