Velvet Shank on beech log

I wasn’t going to write about another fungus straight after yesterday’s piece on the Shaggy Inkcap but I was showing some people around the Grapes Hill Community Garden this morning when we spotted some fungi growing from a beech log in the lawn.

One of the visitors, Jon, knows his fungi and identified them as Velvet Shank, Flammulina velutipes.

Velvet Shank is a new find for me but it is common and is found on the dead stumps of deciduous trees in late autumn and winter, later than most other fungi. Elm is said to be a particular favourite, though that may be partly due to the number of dead elms in recent years, due to Dutch elm disease. Unlike many fungi, Velvet Shank is frost tolerant and the fruiting body can survive being frozen solid.

Velvet Shank is edible, but we didn’t try it as the specimens were a bit past it. According to John Wright (in “Mushrooms”, River Cottage Handbook No. 1, Bloomsbury 2007) the flavour is excellent and he describes it as “sweet and malty”.

Velvet Shank

Our specimens had slimy caps, which Jon demonstrated by putting the fungus on the palm of his hand and showing us that it didn’t fall off even when held upside down. This sliminess is a diagnostic feature, especially in damp weather.

Read more on John Wright’s website and in the Foraging Guide.

Enokitake mushrooms don’t look like Velvet Shank but they are cultivars of Flammulina velutipes and may be seen in packets in food shops, and on Norwich Market.

See my more recent blog post on Winter fungi for some more photos of Velvet Shank.