italian naturalist carlo vittadini was the first to recognise the pine bolete as a distinct taxon. it was raised to species status by antonio venturi in 1863. for many years, "boletus pinophilus" was considered a variety of "boletus edulis", and before that as "boletus pinicola". this species, while no longer treated as a variety of "b. edulis", is classified in "boletus" section "boletus", and hence, as a close relative of "b. edulis". it gained its current name in 1973, described by czech mycologists albert pilát and aurel dermek. its specific epithet is a mix of latin "pinus" "pine", and ancient greek "philus" "loving". "boletus pinicola" is a synonym subsequently found to be an invalid name. common names include the pine bolete, and the pinewood king bolete.