A bolete with a cap covered in soft, black, woolly scales over a whitish to gray ground, gray pores that blacken, and flesh that turns pink to red and then black when cut. The spore print is black. Petersen et al. (2012) showed that the European S. floccopus is the same as S. strobilaceus and that North American 'floccopus' collections are a different, still unnamed species.
Edible with caution. First Nature calls it edible but of very limited culinary value; MushroomExpert gives no edibility data, and North American material is a separate, unnamed species. It is rare in Britain and should not be collected there. The red-then-black staining and black scaly cap make it hard to confuse with poisonous boletes; cook well.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Habitat
Ectomycorrhizal, mainly with hardwoods such as oak and beech, occasionally under conifers; alone or in groups. July to November in Britain; summer and fall in North America, where MushroomExpert gives oaks as the main partner.
Distribution
Europe (common in parts of northern Europe, very rare in Britain) and Asia, including Iran, Taiwan and Japan. The North American 'Old Man of the Woods' (mainly eastern North America, with records from the Southwest) is a different, undescribed species according to Petersen et al. (2012) as summarized by MushroomExpert.
Characteristics
Cap: 4-12 cm (rarely to 20 cm), convex, dry, covered in large, erect, woolly black to dark gray scales over a whitish to gray ground; margin hung with gray veil remnants. Pores: whitish to pale gray, becoming gray to black, bruising red then black; angular, 1-3 per mm (North American material). Stem: 4-12 cm long, 1-2.5 cm thick, gray to blackish and shaggy, often with a ring zone. Flesh: white, turning pink to red then black within about an hour. Spore print: black. Spores: 9-15 x 8-12 um, globose to ellipsoid, with a mesh-like (reticulate) ornament (First Nature; Wikipedia; MushroomExpert).
