Velvet Shank

Flammulina velutipes (Curtis) Singer

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2 weeks ago Last Observed

The Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes) is a small, slimy-capped fungus with an orange-yellow to reddish-brown cap, cream gills and a tough stem that is yellowish at the top and dark, velvety brown below. It grows in tight clusters and has a white spore print.

It is widespread and common across the UK, growing on stumps and trunks of broadleaved trees, only rarely on conifers. It fruits mainly from November to March, often appearing after frosts when few other fungi are about, and can brighten bare winter woodland, hedgerows and gardens.

The velvety dark stem and white spores help separate it from lookalikes. The deadly poisonous Funeral Bell (Galerina marginata) also grows in clusters on wood, but has a ring on the stem and a rusty-brown spore print. Sheathed Woodtuft (Kuehneromyces mutabilis) has a ringed, scaly stem. Never eat a wood-growing brown fungus unless you are certain of its identity, and check the stem and spore print every time.

Source: Wikipedia

Spore Print

Season

Native

non-toxic

Distribution

Widespread and common

Habitat

on stumps or trunks broadleaved trees, rarely conifers

Etymology

Flammulina comes from the Latin flammula, a little flame, and refers to the bright orange-yellow caps that glow among winter wood. The specific epithet velutipes is from Latin velutinus (velvety) and pes (foot), describing the soft, velvety dark brown base of the stem, which gives the fungus its common name.

Conservation

LC - Least Concern

IUCN Red Data List - Flammulina velutipes
Assessment date: 2019

Cap

The cap is smooth and slimy or sticky when moist, orange-yellow at the centre and often reddish-brown towards the middle. It starts convex and flattens with age, and the surface dries to a glossy sheen in dry weather.

Colour
Shape	convex, plane
Surface	smooth, viscid
Width	2 - 6 cm

Gills

The gills are cream and moderately spaced, attached to the stem by a notch (emarginate) or broadly (adnate). They stay pale and do not darken with age.

Colour
Attachment	emarginate, adnate

Flesh

The flesh is thin and pale yellow. The smell is not distinctive or faintly fruity, and the taste is mild, sometimes slightly bitter.

Colour
Odour	Not distinctive, fruity
Taste	Mild, bitter

Stem

The stem is yellowish at the apex, becoming dark brown and velvety towards the base. It is tough and cartilaginous, so it is difficult to snap cleanly.

Colour
Height	3 - 10 cm
Width	4 - 8 mm
Texture	velutinous
Shape	cylindric, tapering

Spores

The spores are smooth and ellipsoid, 6-9.5 x 3-4 µm, and produce a white spore print.

Colour
Shape	ellipsoid
Ornamentation	smooth
Size	6-9.5 x 3-4 μm

Microscopic Features

The cheilocystidia on the gill edge are up to 70 µm long. The pileocystidia on the cap surface measure 50-80 x 5-13 µm and have thick walls at the base.