Community find

Velvet Shank

Flammulina velutipes

Group

Gilled mushroom

Season

It is most commonly found in late autumn through winter, and often into early spring, even surviving frosts and thaws. It is one of the few mushrooms that fruits in cold weather.

Habitat

This mushroom is saprophytic, growing in clusters on dead or dying hardwood trees, often on elm, oak, and beech. It can also be found on buried wood.

Key characteristics

The Velvet Shank has a viscid or slimy cap, typically honey-yellow to orange-brown in color, often darker at the center. It is convex, flattening with age, and can be 2-10 cm in diameter. The gills are pale yellow or whitish, broadly attached to the stem. The stem is distinctively dark, velvety brown to black, especially towards the base, and tough, growing 2-10 cm tall and 0.3-1 cm thick. It lacks a ring. The spore print is white.

Look-alikes

Galerna marginata (Deadly Galerina) is a deadly toxic mushroom that can be mistaken for Flammulina velutipes due to similar coloring and growth on wood. Key distinctions include Galerina marginata having a membranous ring on the stem, a dry (not slimy) cap, and a brownish spore print. Another similar species is Gymnopilus junonius, which is generally much larger, has a rusty-orange spore print, and grows on decaying wood.

Ecological role

As a saprophyte, Flammulina velutipes plays a crucial role in breaking down dead wood, returning nutrients to the ecosystem. It contributes to the decomposition of hardwood trees.