Flammulina velutipes

(Curtis) Singer.

A mature cluster of caps at the base of horse chestnut in Basildon, Essex.
An abundance of caps emerging from the cut end of fallen elm in Pitsea, Essex
Emerging caps on willow in Laindon, Essex
Darkened mature fruiting bodies on elm at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire
The gills and velvety stem of this fungus as seen on ash in Pitsea, Essex

A mature cluster of caps at the base of horse chestnut in Basildon, Essex.
An abundance of caps emerging from the cut end of fallen elm in Pitsea, Essex
Emerging caps on willow in Laindon, Essex
Darkened mature fruiting bodies on elm at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire
The gills and velvety stem of this fungus as seen on ash in Pitsea, Essex
Strikingly shiny fruit bodies on a fallen beech stem in the New Forest, UK.
Maturing tuft at the base of ash in Pitsea, UK.
The translucent gills and dark stipes emerging from sycamore in Bedfordshire, UK.
Upcurled desiccating mature brackets on willow in Laindon, UK.
Over-mature browning fruit bodies on sycamore in Essex, UK.

Common name

Velvet shank.

Often found on

Beech, horse chestnut and elm.

Sometimes found on

Other broadleaved species.

Location

Found on stumps and at the stem base up in to the crown of the tree.

Description

Annual caps. Generally abundant and in overlapping clusters. Caps are bright golden-orange and will become a brown-orange to purplish-red in over-maturity. Shiny and slippery when damp – otherwise dry and lacking the sheen. Gills are white to slightly yellowish. Stem begins yellowish and is rather tough and can be a little velvet-like.

Confused with

Armillaria spp. (thicker stem, rougher cap); Gymnopilus junonius (much larger and in smaller groups); Gymnopus fusipes (spindle-shaped stem); Pholiota aurivella (much larger).

Significance

Usually found growing on dead trees though when found on living trees this fungus indicates physiological decline – most notably when found on elm. It is not known whether this fungus can act pathogenically though its presence on declining trees and its ability to colonise across vast areas of such hosts with seeming speed suggests that the potential might exist for it to be pathogenic.