Velvet shank or Honey fungus

Cap 2-8 cm, hemispherical at first, then convex-expanded to flat. Color yellow-orange, honey-yellow, darker in the center and paler toward the edge. In wet weather it is slimy and shiny; in dry weather, somewhat matte. The cap skin peels off easily.

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.

Gilled hymenophore. Gills crowded, thin, adnate or slightly decurrent. Whitish to cream, turning yellowish with age. Spore print white — an important diagnostic feature for telling it apart from the poisonous funeral bell (whose spore print is rusty brown).

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.

Stem 3-7 cm tall, 0.3-0.8 cm thick, slender, cylindrical, often curved, hollow inside. A telltale feature — a velvety dark brown surface, especially lower down (the upper part is paler, yellowish). There is no ring — this is the crucial difference from the funeral bell.

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 flesh is thin and yellowish in the cap, fibrous and springy in the stem. It doesn't change color when cut. It has a pleasant mild flavor.

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.

Faint, pleasant mushroomy smell. Taste mild and delicate.

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.