Goblet funnel or Grayling

Cap 3-8 cm across, convex in young mushrooms, later becoming funnel-shaped or goblet-shaped, with a sunken center and a thin wavy margin. Color gray-brown to chocolate-gray, darker in wet weather and paler in dry weather (hygrophanous). Surface smooth, silky and glossy when young, matte when old, with barely visible radial veins.

The cap of the grayling is small — 2 to 5 centimeters across. When young it is convex, becoming funnel-shaped and depressed with age, yet it almost always keeps a prominent pointed knob (umbo) in the center, to which the mushroom owes its name. The surface is finely fibrous, dry, matte. The coloring is gray, gray-brown or ashy brown, often darker in the center.

Gilled hymenophore. Gills distant, strongly decurrent down the stem (a characteristic feature). Color grayish-white to cream, turning light brown with age. Spore print white.

The hymenophore is gilled. The gills are white or grayish-white, narrow, very crowded, running noticeably down the stem (decurrent) and characteristically forked (splitting in two), reminiscent of the ridges of chanterelles. When damaged and with age, they may develop reddish-pink spots. The spore print is white. Forked decurrent gills are the key feature of the species.

Stem 3-8 cm tall, 0.5-1.2 cm thick, slender, cylindrical or slightly thickened toward the base. Color gray-brown, similar to the cap, with white mycelial down at the bottom. Surface lengthwise fibrous, no ring. The stem flesh becomes hollow in old mushrooms.

The stem is thin, cylindrical, 3 to 8 centimeters tall, grayish or light brown, matching the cap or slightly paler, springy, with whitish felty mycelium at the base. The surface is smooth or finely fibrous. There is no ring and no volva. When cut, the stem may also turn slightly red.

Flesh thin, watery, grayish and brittle. Does not change color when cut. No pronounced taste or smell.

The flesh is thin, springy, whitish or grayish, and when cut or damaged slowly takes on a reddish-pink tint. The taste is mild, without bitterness. Because of its thin texture, the mushroom rounds out the basket rather than anything else; for the table, choose young, firm specimens.

Faintly mushroomy, neutral, with no distinct notes. Mild taste. In old mushrooms — sourish and unpleasant.

The smell is faint, pleasant or almost imperceptible, with no sharp notes. The aroma is not a defining feature, so for identification you rely on the gray knobbed cap, the forked decurrent gills that turn red, and its growth among haircap moss.