Poplar fieldcap or Honey fungus

The honey fungus cap is 3–12 cm across. In young mushrooms it is spherical-convex with an inrolled margin; with age it becomes flat and spreading, with a small bump in the middle.

The color varies from honey-yellow and ochre-brown to dark brown with an olive tinge — it depends on the host tree species. The surface is covered with characteristic small dark scales, especially dense in the center. In wet weather the cap is slightly slimy; in dry weather it is dry and matte.

The cap of the poplar fieldcap is 4 to 10, occasionally up to 15 centimeters across. When young it is hemispherical; with age it opens to convex and flat, often with fine radial cracks across the surface in dry weather. The surface is smooth, dry and matte. The color is dark brown or chestnut at first, fading with age and from center to edge to light ochre, cream or nearly white; the center is usually darker.

The hymenophore has gills. The gills are moderately crowded, thin, attached to the stem by a short tooth or running slightly down it.

In young mushrooms the color is creamy white; with age it darkens to a dirty ochre, often with rusty spore stains. In young mushrooms the veil (velum) covers the hymenophore like a membrane and later remains on the stem as a characteristic white ring — an important diagnostic feature.

The spore-bearing surface is made of gills. The gills are attached to the stem and fairly crowded, whitish or pale gray at first, turning tobacco-brown, rusty-brown from the spores as they mature. The spore print is tobacco-brown. Pale gills that brown with age, together with the ring on the stem, help you recognize this species.

The honey fungus stem is slender and tall: 6–15 cm tall, 0.8–2 cm thick. Cylindrical, often slightly curved, a little wider at the base. The upper part is whitish-yellow, darkening to rusty brown toward the base.

The surface is fibrous, covered with small brown scales in the lower part. The ring is the main identifying feature: white, membranous, well-developed, located in the upper third of the stem. There is no volva.

The stem is cylindrical, fairly long and firm, 5 to 12 centimeters tall, white or cream, often browning toward the base. Near the top there is a persistent white membranous ring — a remnant of the veil — on which brown spore dust often settles. Several stems fuse together in a cluster at the base. There is no volva. The stem flesh is tougher than the cap, so mostly the caps are eaten.

Flesh thin, white, noticeably fibrous in the stem. It doesn't change color when cut — it stays consistently white or cream. In the cap the flesh is softer and juicy; in the stem it is toughish and often hollow in old specimens.

The raw flesh tastes astringent and bitterish — which is exactly why honey fungus must be boiled before eating. After cooking the bitterness disappears and the flesh takes on a pleasant mushroomy flavor.

The flesh is white, firm and springy — fleshy in the cap and fibrous-tough in the stem. It does not change color when cut. The taste is pleasant, nutty and mushroomy, sometimes with a light winey note. Thanks to its firmness, the flesh holds its shape when cooked and doesn't turn mushy, which is why the mushroom is so valued in the kitchen.

Fresh honey fungus smells pleasant, light, typically mushroomy — with barely noticeable notes of damp wood and moss. It has none of the sharp sourish or chemical tinges found in false honey fungi — an important safety difference.

The aroma doesn't change when cut. Dried, the mushroom keeps a light mushroomy smell, but because of its high moisture content and thin cap, honey fungus is rarely dried — it is more often pickled or salted.

The smell is pleasant and mushroomy, with a distinctive winey-mealy or cedar-like note. The aroma is quite pronounced and helps you recognize the mushroom, along with its clustered growth on poplar, pale cap and white ring on the stem.