Velvet Foot Mushroom
This is a cool mushroom. Velvet Foot is also known as the Winter Mushroom since it grows during warm spells when Old Man Winter takes a break. I found these while daytime temperatures were in the mid 60s and nights dropped into the low 40s and upper 30s. I don’t know how much lower they would take but a good guess would be they won’t tolerate getting frozen at night.
Flammulina velutipes
As one would guess, Velvet Foot Mushrooms get their name from the stems which are dark and velvety starting at the base.
This is a good example why some mushrooms are so hard to identify. Field Guides don’t have pics of all stages of growth. Early growth sometimes has no resemblance to later stages.
Other clues besides the velvety stems help to identify it. Slimy looking sticky caps, growing on dead Elm trees and old stems almost entirely blackish colored with the velvet look and feel.
Edible:
This is supposed to be excellent eating but I wouldn’t know. I’m called a lot of thing but fungus eater isn’t one of them.
Flammulina velutipes is cultivated and known as the Enoki mushroom or Enokitake. When cultivated it looks nothing like the wild mushrooms. If you see them in stores they will be white with long stems and tiny caps. Enoki is cultivated in darkness which causes them grow long and thin as they seek light. Similar growth can be seen in the wild where it grows under loose bark. The hidden mushrooms will look like the cultivated ones and where they ‘escape’ from the dark will have normal growth.
In 1993 Flammulina velutipes was cultivated on the Space Shuttle Columbia to see what the effects of weightlessness had on their growth. They normally grow straight up with caps basically parallel to the ground, one would assume making it easy for spores to fall to the ground. In space however the mushrooms grew every which way with no orientation due to the lack of gravity.
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September 29th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Sometimes we get beautiful mushroom blooms. Not this year. Yours are spectacular.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
You have such beautiful fungus. I don’t just say that to anyone.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
That you can capture all that detail on the gills!
September 29th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Such detail! They look “juicy”. and succulent. But I will pass.
Rosy
September 29th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Flammulina velutipes will now enter my list of fun botanical names to say. These include, without limitation, Adiantum pedatum and Hylotelephium telephium. Doncha just love ‘em!? Great shots, as usual.
Now if I could just remember the term for when mushrooms turn into liquid. Like comic Stephen Wright said in a routine about driving across America with only one CD to listen to: I don’t remember what it was. But I liked it.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Cool mushroom indeed. Amazing angle on 2nd shot. Lovely !
September 29th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
The velvet fungus looks just right growing on the side of tree. It’s even a handsome mushroom. I’ve never been much of a fungi eater either.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
We’ve had a few ideal weeks for mushrooms here in lower Michigan. Lots of interesting things to look at. That first shot of the gills is great!
September 29th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Beautiful mushroom. I especially like the 1st and 2nd shots.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I haven’t seen mushrooms with undersides like these yet. I’ll keep looking. Most of mine look like pancakes over and under.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Those are stunning photos! Kim
September 30th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Congratulations on your Blotanical Win.
~ hugs, Cherry
September 30th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Very cool photos and congrats on your blotanical award!
September 30th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
What an interesting mushroom. The stems do look velvety. I love the formation also. Great photos.
Congrats on your Blotanical win.
FlowerLady
September 30th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Ha. Your warm spell would be a welcomed cool spell here. I just love the intricacies of mushrooms. Great photos and information of the Velvet Foot.
Congrats on your best New York blog award.
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel
September 30th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Awesome photos.
Congrats on your win on Blotanical(-:
October 1st, 2009 at 9:20 am
Back again to congratulate you on your Blotanical win. Yours was one of the toughest competitions in the deck. What an achievement!
October 1st, 2009 at 10:33 am
Wow, I’ll say the cultivated one (enoki) has quite a different appearance! I would have never guessed they were related. Great shots. I love eating mushrooms and now my stomach is growling.
October 1st, 2009 at 10:44 am
Gotta stop by and say congrats to you for best NY blog on Blotanical. ( Did I get that right?) Wowsers…that is so amazing… I am not surprised. Good job!!!
I hate wearing dresses. Savvy?
Rosey
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:27 am
Congratulations on your Blotanical award! Well done! Love your blog, great pictures and your sense of humor!