Boletus luridiformis was originally described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1796 as Boletus erythropus - a name since reduced to synonymy - [REF] which derived its specific name from the Greek ερυθρος ("red") and πους ("foot"),[REF] referring to its red coloured stalk.
Genetic analysis published in 2013 showed that B. luridiformis and many (but not all) red-pored boletes were part of a dupainii clade (named for Boletus dupainii), well-removed from the core group of Boletus edulis and relatives within the Boletineae.