Community find

Velvet Shank

Flammulina velutipes

Group

gilled mushroom

Season

Late autumn through winter, often continuing to fruit during thaws.

Habitat

Typically grows in clusters on dead or decaying hardwood, especially elm, oak, and beech, but also sometimes on living trees.

Key characteristics

Cap is typically 2-10 cm wide, convex to flat, slimy or sticky when wet, and ranges in color from yellow-orange to reddish-brown. Gills are broadly attached, white to pale yellow. Stem is tough, velvety, dark brown or blackish at the base, becoming paler towards the cap. Spore print is white.

Look-alikes

Similar looking species include Galerina marginata (Deadly Galerina) which is deadly poisonous and has a brownish spore print and a non-velvety stem, and Pholiota aurivella, which has scales on its cap and stem.

Ecological role

Saprotrophic, playing a crucial role in the decomposition of dead wood and the recycling of nutrients in forest ecosystems.