Velvet Shank
Flammulina velutipes · Physalacriaceae
Also called Winter Fungus, Enokitake
A winter mushroom: sticky orange caps in clusters on dead elm and other broadleaf wood, often through frost.
Edible. Take a spore print. White is Velvet Shank; rusty brown means Funeral Bell and can kill. Never pick these without checking.
Read the full foraging safety guidance.
Season
October to March
Where it grows
- Dead elm
- Dead broadleaf wood
- Stumps
Identification
- Cap
- 2-8cm, tawny-orange, smooth and distinctly sticky or slimy.
- Gills / pores
- Pale cream to yellowish, fairly widely spaced, attached.
- Stem
- Tough, dark velvety brown at the base, paler at the top.
- Flesh
- Pale, thin.
- Spore print
- White.
- Smell & taste
- Pleasant.
Lookalikes
The deadly Funeral Bell (Galerina marginata) grows on wood in the same way but has a RING on the stem and a RUSTY brown spore print.
In the kitchen
Discard the tough stems. Good in Asian broths and soups.
Also edible
Penny Bun
Boletus edulis
The most sought-after wild mushroom in Britain: nutty, firm and richly scented, with a pale bun-like cap and a fat netted stem.
Chanterelle
Cantharellus cibarius
Egg-yolk yellow, trumpet-shaped and smelling faintly of apricots. One of the safest and finest edibles once learned.
Field Mushroom
Agaricus campestris
The classic mushroom of unimproved pasture: white cap, pink gills darkening to brown, and a clean mushroomy smell.