 It occurs in deciduous forests of Europe where it forms a symbiotic mycorrhizal relationship with species of oak ("Quercus").The fungus produces fruiting bodies in the summer months which are edible and popularly collected.The summer cep was formally described by Jacob Christian Schäffer as "Boletus reticulatus" in 1774, which took precedence over "B. aestivalis" as described by Jean-Jacques Paulet in 1793.