The Old Man of the Woods

Description:

Cap: 3-15 cm; convex becoming broadly convex in age; dry; covered with coarse, black, woolly scales over a whitish to grayish base color; the margin frequently with hanging remnants of a partial veil. Pore Surface: Whitish, soon becoming gray and finally black; bruising reddish, then black; pores angular; tubes to 1.5 cm. Stem: 4-12 cm long; 1-2.5 cm thick; more or less equal; grayish to blackish; shaggy; sometimes reticulate above; sometimes with an ephemeral ring or ring zone; solid. Flesh: Whitish throughout, turning pinkish to red when exposed, then blackening over the course of an hour. Odor and Taste: Not distinctive. Chemical Reactions: Flesh pale brownish yellow with ammonia, reddish with KOH, and bluish gray with iron salts. Spore Print: Blackish brown to black. Microscopic Features: Spores 9.5-15 x 8.5-12 µ; round, nearly round, or nearly elliptical; with ornamentation forming a completle reticulum.

Habitat:

Mycorrhizal with hardwoods, especially oaks; common; summer and fall; primarily distributed in eastern North America but also recorded from the Southwest.

Notes:

Found growing near Abrams Creek in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Approx. 3" dia. grey mushroom. Growing alone. No others in the area.