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Leccinum aurantiacum, commonly known as the Red-Capped Scaber Stalk or Orange Oak Bolete, is a robust ectomycorrhizal fungus distinguished by its vibrant brick-red to orange-red pileus and scabrous stipe. The cap, ranging from 5 to 20 cm (sometimes up to 25 cm) in diameter, is initially globose and finely tomentose, expanding to convex or broadly convex with a cuticle that often overhangs the margin by 1-2 mm. The pore surface is initially whitish to cream, darkening to ochraceous-gray with age, and stains reddish-gray to violet-gray when bruised. A defining characteristic of the species is its complex staining reaction; the firm white flesh typically stains vinaceous or lilac-gray upon exposure to air, eventually darkening to charcoal gray or black. The stipe is solid, clavate to cylindrical, and covered in distinctive squamules (scabers) that transition from whitish in youth to reddish-brown or black at maturity. Taxonomically, this species is part of a complex often confused with Leccinum versipelle (which strictly associates with birch) and the North American Leccinum insigne.
Native: Europe (widespread), Asia (Russia, Siberia), North America (though often misidentified as L. insigne or L. vulpinum). Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, though declining in some European regions due to habitat loss.
No strains cataloged yet for this species.
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