#xerula

[mushroomgay]

South Downs, UK, August 2019

Rooting shank (Xerula radicata)

Although a reasonable edible, I’ve never considered rooting shanks much worth gathering unless to supplement some other foraged species, as they grow singularly, and are quite insubstantial. They were absolutely covering the woodland parts of the trail I was hiking for four days, however, in numbers I’ve never seen further north in the UK, and would have been worth picking, but unfortunately I had no way to safely transport them along the hike and home again.

[mushroomgay]

Barnet, London, UK, August 2018

Rooting shank (Xerula radicata)

These elegant fungi are common across Britain. They are edible, but not particularly desirable, and rarely found in large enough numbers to be worth collecting (additionally, this one had been taken over by a group of small insects). You are better off admiring their long, elegant, and finally grooved stem, their most recognisable feature. If you do pick them, try digging gently down around their base - they often have as long a stem below the earth as they do above, as they most commonly grow on deeply buried well-rotted wood. 

[isaenko]

It was a treat photographing this mushroom with an excellent sounding name - Xerula Radicata, formerly known as Oudemansiella Radicata. It sounds like a character straight out of a Sci-Fi opera. Radicata is known as a deep root mushroom - from Radicata - Root in Latin. This is probably the only mushroom that has a long tooth like root resembling a shank, in some cases as long as 8 inches. It grows on decaying woods and is considered to be edible. ~ #Mushroom #Xerula #Radicata #oudemansiella https://www.instagram.com/p/BnsNyb6lGOR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1oag1z1ckj0l3

[libutron]

Rooting Shank - Xerula radicata

Xerula radicata (Physalacriaceae) is a tall and very graceful mushroom with the cap radially wrinkled, and much of its stem below the forest floor as above. This species, which occurs in Europe and North America, is generally regarded as an edible mushroom, but it is not highly rated and, because it rarely occurs in any great numbers, not worthwhile.

Synonym: Oudemansiella radicata

References: [1] - [2]

Photo credit: ©Claude-Alain Berdoz | Locality: not indicated (2014)