The velvet foot or velvet shank mushroom: Flammulina velutipes. Identification tips and toxic look-a-likes

Caution: this is NOT A BEGINNER's mushroom.

This mushroom cannot be positively identified by observing features alone. A spore print must be made for positive identification. This mushroom has many lookalikes, some of which are deadly, others will make you sick. Use the following tips as a guideline only, but confirmer your identification with other reliable sources and a trusted local expert.

As always, it's your responsibility to make 100% sure of any while plant or mushroom you consume.

Identification difficulty level: Intermediate

Flammulina velutipes, commonly known as the velvet foot, velvet shank, velvet stem, or winter mushroom, is officially a cold-weather fruiting fungus, which can be harvested even in the dead of winter in some places. This makes it a great find for winter survivalists, or for any forager who just can't get enough, and wants to hunt year round.

Cultivated Flammulina velutipes, called enoki mushrooms.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia user Chris 73, via Wikipedia Commons

Do you know the enoki mushroom?

If you know the skinny white enoki mushrooms you buy in the store, then you actually know the velvet shank, kind of. The enoki is also Flammulina velutipes, but it's cultivated in very specific ways, to make it look, and in many ways taste, like a different mushroom. By growing it in complete darkness, it turns white instead of cinnamon brown, and forcing the stems to grow long and skinny keeps them tender, where in the wild they are tough and chewy. 

Despite the more tender texture of the cultivated variety, I GREATLY prefer the stronger, more umami flavor of the wild version. When cultivated they become tender and mild, but wild they are a very exciting mushroom, with a very meaty texture and a buttery, nutty flavor. 

Keep reading to learn more on how to accurately identify the velvet foot mushroom, and avoid the very similar-looking, DEADLY Galerina.

How to identify cinnabar chanterelles - edible mushrooms

Identification difficulty: Novice

Cinnabar chanterelles / red chanterelles, Cantharellus cinnabarinus and Cantharellus texenesis, are often overlooked members of the Chanterelle family. 

Though smaller and slightly less delectable than their larger, more famous cousins, cinnabar chants are certainly edible, and quite delicious in their own way. 

A fairy ring of cinnabar chanterelles in the Piney Woods of East Texas

Most blogs and even professional foraging books group cinnabar chants with the larger, yellow chanterelles, and treat them as an afterthought. This is problematic, as the cinnabar chanterelle has a wider range of look-a-like species, and if you simply use the information for regular chanterelle look-a-likes, you could find yourself eating a potentially harmful species. 

I'm going to try and prevent that confusion with this post. 

As a side note, I've been wanting to do a post on chanterelle and cinnabar chanterelle identification for some time. Cinnabar chants were one of the mushrooms we found most abundantly in the greater New York area.  However, at the time I couldn't afford a smart phone or quality digital camera to be able to take the kinds of detailed pics I feel are essential for identification of these species. 

And since moving to Texas, where higher salaries and lower cost of living have overall improved our quality of life, I've been unable to find these guys, until a trip to the Piney Woods of East Texas.