| Common names for this attractive species are Brown Stew
Fungus and Two-toned Pholiota, so-called because the cap is a shiny
cinnamon-orange when wet but dries a light tan colour.
This attractive, edible fungus appears throughout the year, often in
large tufts. You may find it recorded under the scientific names Galerina
mutabilis or Pholiota mutabilis in some books.
Cap
|
3 to 8 cm in diameter, convex becoming
flattened with a broad umbo; bright tan, drying out to pale ochre from the
centre and giving a two-toned (zonate) appearance.
The cap flesh is pale tan and quite thin. |
Gills
|
Adnate and crowded, the gills are pale ochre
at first and become cinnamon as the spores mature. |
Stipe |
Pale and smooth above the ragged stem ring; fibrous, scaly and dark tan
below, graduating to almost black at the base. 5 to 10 mm in diameter and 3
to 8 cm tall; usually curved. The flesh of the solid stem is pale tan at the
apex, graduating to dark brown at the base. |
Spore print |
Reddish-ochre. |
Odour/taste |
Not distinctive. |
Habitat |
On stumps, felled trunks and logs of
broad-leaf trees, particularly birch. |
Season |
Throughout the year, but most plentiful in
summer and autumn. |
Occurrence |
Very common. |
Similar species |
- Flammulina velutipes, commonly called Velvet Shank, has a
darker, velvety stem and leaves a white spore print.
|
|
