Velvet Shank (Flammulina Velutipes) Identification

How to Identify Velvet Shanks

Common Names:

Velvet Shank, Enoki


Botanical Name:

Flammulina Velutipes 


Meaning of Botanical Name:

Flammulina meaning flaming top, and Velutipes meaning velvety leg


Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Fungi, 

Division: Basidiomycota,

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales,

Family: Physalacriaceae

Genus: Flammulina


Known Hazards:

None known


Could be confused with:

Sulphur tufts that don’t have the velvety brown to the stem and can’t withstand the winter cold as well, they also have a sulphurous colour to them.


Food Plant of:

This mushroom rarely has maggots.


Range and Distribution:

Common throughout Britain and Ireland, Europe, Aisa, North Africa and North America


Habitat:

Occurs on logs and stumps of hardwood trees and diseased trees


Physical Characteristics of the Velvet Shank Mushroom: 

Cap

They grow in clusters on stumps, The caps are flame-like, orange in the centre becoming lighter and yellowy towards the edge

2009-11-19_Flammulina_sp_biolib.cz.jpg: František ŠARŽÍKderivative work: Ak ccm, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Gills

The gills are creamy coloured, adnate and well-spaced.

Tomasz Przechlewski, CC BY 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons

Stem

The stem starts of orangy yellow when young becoming dark brown and velvety with age.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Flammulina_velutipes_103239373.jpg

Smell

They have a lovely sweet fruity metallic smell.


Spores

This mushroom has a white spore print.


Edible Use:

The Velvet Shank Mushroom Fantastic edible mushroom, the stems can be a little chewy but go well in stews etc.


Herbal:

These mushrooms have good very anti-cancer properties.


The last word goes to……..

This gorgeous mushroom is a wild variety of the cultivated Enoki mushroom which is often used within Asian Cuisine.

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