Identification difficulty: Beginner
Meet the old MEN of the woods, "Strobilomyces strobilaceus" (though most books will use the term Strobilomyces floccopus) and Strobilomyces confusus.
Old MEN, you ask? Yes, in the Americas the common name "old man of the woods" is often used interchangably for two different species of Strobilomyces that look rather similar. And there is still a different "old man of the woods" in Europe and Asia.
Confused yet? The naming gets worse.
The Latin name Strobilomyces strobilaceus applies only the European species. DNA studies have shown that the American mushrooms--previously believed to be identical--are genetically different, but a Latin name hasn't been chosen yet.
From a foraging and edibility standpoint, none of this matters. All species share the same identification features, but if you're curious about species naming, check out the taxonomic confusion section at the end of this post.
Old man of the woods identification
- A cap and stalk mushroom
- Pores under the cap instead of gills.
- Mushroom cap is light gray with dark gray to black textural elements. Textures can resemble large gray/black "flaps" that hang down (S. strobilaceus), or small gray/black pyramids that stick up (S. confusus).
- Pore surface is pale gray to charcoal gray to black.
- Pores aren't round, instead they are angular polygons, often elongated.
- Stem is also dark gray or black and textural, with dark scales along most of the length.
- Entire mushroom bruises pink or red when bruised or cut. This color slowly fades to gray or black.
- Found in the woods, growing terrestrially (on the ground) or on logs so well-decayed they are basically soil.
That's really all there is to know about identification, this really is an easy group of mushrooms to ID.
