Flammulina velutipes, the velvet shank or velvet foot, is a cold-season wood-decay mushroom of Europe and North America. It has a sticky orange-brown cap, white spore print and a stem that becomes dark and velvety from the base upward. DNA studies show that most commercially cultivated enoki is the East Asian F. filiformis, not this species.
Edible; the cap can be cooked, ideally with the sticky skin removed. Use caution: the deadly, amatoxin-containing Galerina marginata grows in similar clusters on wood. Galerina has a rusty-brown spore print and usually a membranous ring, while Flammulina has a white print, no ring and a velvety dark stem. Take a spore print of every collection.
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Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
Habitat
Saprobic in clusters on stumps, logs, roots and living wood of hardwoods, especially elm, also ash, beech and oak; rarely on conifers. Fruits from autumn to spring (October-February in Europe; through May in eastern North America).
Distribution
Europe and North America; as currently defined it is reported nearly worldwide. In western North America, F. populicola on aspen and cottonwood looks virtually identical and is separated microscopically.
Characteristics
Cap: 1-6 cm, convex becoming flat, sticky when fresh, bald; dark orange-brown to yellowish brown, often paler toward the margin. Gills: Creamy white to pale orangish, attached, with frequent short gills. Stem: 2-5 cm long, 3-10 mm thick, tough; pale at first, then covered from the base upward with dark brown to blackish velvet; no ring. Flesh: Yellowish in the cap, brown in the stem. Spore print: White. Spores: 5-10 x 2.5-3.5 um, smooth. Key features: Clustered on wood in cold weather; velvety dark stem; white spore print.
