Shrooms Gone Wild

Wild Edible Mushroom – old man of the woods mushroom (Strobilomyces floccopus)

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you The Old Man of the Woods. Strobilomyces floccopus, a member of the boletus genus of mushrooms, is one of the easier wild edible mushrooms to identify as a beginner. The black tufts of what looks almost like hair growing from the cap and stem make this mushroom pretty distinct and easy to identify by eye.

While I personally haven’t eaten this one yet, it is indeed a wild edible mushroom, although reportedly bland in taste and nothing much to write home about. One day when I find a nice fresh specimen that isn’t serving as the anchor for a spider web, or growing out of some creepy hole in the woods, then maybe I would gather the guts to collect it and cook it up for dinner.

Strobilomyces floccopus – Old Man of the Woods Mushroom

I must say though, the furry tufts of hair that are the signiture characteristic of Strobilomyces floccopus really remind me of a tarantula’s backside! The fact that I always seem to find these mushrooms with a spider web attached to them sometimes makes me wonder if this mushroom isn’t going to suddenly sprout 8 legs and run away!