Genus of fungi
Strobilomyces is a genus of boletes (mushrooms having a spongy mass of pores under the cap). The only well-known European species is the type species "S. strobilaceus" (also named "S. floccopus"), known in English as "old man of the woods".
Members of the genus can be distinguished by the following characteristics:
Taxonomy and classification.
The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek word "Strobilos" (στρόβιλος), meaning "pine cone", a reference to the appearance of "S. strobilaceus". The ending "-myces" is a standard suffix meaning "mushroom" (Ancient Greek: μύкης). In some older classification systems it is assigned to a separate family Strobilomycetaceae, but more recent phylogenetic evidence merges it into the larger family Boletaceae (suborder Boletineae). These results corroborate older DNA analyses by K. Høiland (1987), which suggested that "Strobilomyces" is only distantly related to more familiar boletes such as "Suillus", but was in fact more closely related to the Earth Balls ("Scleroderma").
Many more species have been discovered in warmer countries. The mycologist E. J. H. Corner described several new species from Malaysia including "S. foveatus". According to recent estimates, about 40 species are known.
References.
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External links.
 Media related to at Wikimedia Commons