It ranges throughout North America and Europe, although collections from the British Isles are now assigned to the similar species Sarcodon squamosus.

The Swedish botanist Olof Celsius reported in 1732 that Sarcodon imbricatus occurred in the vicinity of Uppsala, and Carl Linnaeus wrote of it in his 1737 work Flora lapponica.

For many years, Sarcodon imbricatus was described associated with both spruce and pine, although the latter forms were smaller and noted to be more palatable by mushroom hunters in Norway.

Molecular analysis of the DNA revealed the two forms to be distinct genetically, and thus populations of what had been described as S. imbricatus were now assigned to Sarcodon squamosus, which includes collections in the British Isles and the Netherlands.

[7] The fruit bodies of Sarcodon imbricatus grow in association with firs (Abies), especially in hilly or mountainous areas,[9] and can appear on sandy or chalk soils in fairy rings.

[2] It ranges throughout North America and Europe,[10] although collections from the British Isles are now assigned to another species, Sarcodon squamosus.

Distinctive spicy aroma of fried younger specimens has made it an expensive delicacy on Japanese food market.