Tag: velvet shank

Velvet Shank

velvet shank

Another iPhone drawing, this is velvet shank fungus growing on an old stump at Nostell last January. The effect of Adobe Fresco’s natural inker in various opaque colours reminds me of oil pastels, which I briefly experimented with in my student day. I like the out-of-control energy of the swirling line, which was literally out-of-control as I struggled again with my Wacom Bamboo stylus slipping about on the protective glass screen of the phone.

It’s so different to my usual nature diary sketches for The Dalesman but I’ll drop it into the layout and I think that it might work in the context of the article, I’m not producing a field guide and this article is about the way life seems to be waiting to burst forth once we get to January.

Velvet Shank

velvet shank, Flammulina velutipes

I was surprised to see so much fungus growing on an old tree stump near the church at Nostell but this is Velvet Shank, Flammulina velutipes, which thrives during the winter and can survive being frozen solid. The stem becomes black and velvety with age and the cap becomes slimy when damp.

It’s grown commercially in a small, white, elongated form as Enoki, also known as Enokitake, for use in soups and salads.

You could eat Velvet Shank, as there’s not much else available at this time of year, although I won’t be trying it as there’s a similar species called Funeral Bell which is deadly poisonous (but which doesn’t survive into the winter).