Rooting Shank / Summer / Autumn / Edible
The Rooting Shank (Hymenopellis radicata) is a distinctive mushroom often found in UK woodlands, particularly around the bases of decaying hardwoods. With its tall, slender stem and small, pale-brown cap, this mushroom gets its name from its long, tapering root-like base that extends deep into the soil or wood. Its delicate, almost ethereal appearance makes it an intriguing find during a woodland walk.
Scientific Name
Hymenopellis radicata
Common Name
Rooting shank
Family
Physalacriaceae
Habitat and season
Saprophytic, Growing off dead wood often buried. Growing singly or in small groups. Summer and autumn
Identifying Features of the Rooting shank
A very beautiful mushroom, it has a unique composition of being very rigid in its shape but feeling incredibly light and dainty if it has been sculpted, a lovely find indeed. The rooting stem that can go as deep into the ground as is above. with its notably firm texture and can stay perfectly intact many days after picking.
Cap
Shape– Oval to convex at first flattening out to broadly umbo ( this means generally flat with a raised centre) Cap size is usually about 4-10cm
Colour– grey brown colour. The centre is darker in colour.
Texture– When moist the texture is sticky/ slimy, but when dry it’s silky smooth. Radial wrinkles as if a film on the cap has shrunk.
Stem:
A distinguishing feature of this mushroom is how the stem continues on average 10 cm into the ground giving it the name ‘rooting’
Central on cap, light beige and smooth,very firm. No skirt/or ring, no volva, 10-20 cm long and 0.5-1 cm in diameter
Gills:
Adnate with a decurrent tooth
Distant and pale cream
Smell:
Faint, not distinctive
Spores:
white
Uses and edibility of Rooting shank
The rooting shank is an edible species, it’s not highly rated, the stem is very tough leaving just the cap which is insubstantial.
Conservation Considerations
Very common, not of concern.
Rooting shank Could Be Confused With
Could be confused with members of the Pluteus genus for example the Deer Shield (Pluteus Cervinus) but this genus have pink spores.
Caution and known hazards
Not in the fruiting body itself but danger is with mis-identification.