Russet toughshankGymnopus dryophilus

Yes, the mushroom is technically edible. It's not poisonous. But its culinary value is low — the flesh is thin and not very nourishing. It's best to boil it for 10-15 min before cooking and pour off the water. Safe for beginners — there are no dangerous lookalikes with the same thin white gills and russet cap in broadleaf woods.

Preferably — 10-15 minutes, then pour off the water. Not because of toxicity, but to improve the flavor and texture (the flesh gets softer). You can also add it to a soup or a fry-up with other mushrooms without boiling it first — simmering in the soup does the same job.

In broadleaf and mixed woods, especially under oaks — hence the name "oak honey fungus" (although it is not related to honey fungus). Also under beech, hornbeam, birch and aspen. It's a saprotroph of broadleaf litter. It grows in large groups of 10-30 fruiting bodies, often in rings ("fairy rings").

All over Ukraine wherever there are broadleaf forests: the Carpathians, the Carpathian foothills, Polissia, the whole Forest-Steppe, the Crimean Mountains. In the steppe — in oak plantings and shelterbelts. It's one of the most "background" mushrooms there is.

May–November. It's one of the longest-fruiting mushrooms — with several flushes. The first flush is in May–June (together with the morels). The second in August. The third and most abundant in September–October. It can hang on into November, until the first serious frosts.

No, fruiting stops once temperatures stay below freezing. The last fruiting bodies appear in November if the autumn is warm. In winter its place is taken by the velvet shank (Flammulina velutipes) — a truly frost-hardy species.

With honey fungus (Armillaria mellea), although they belong to different genera. The difference: honey fungus has a ring on the stem and grows in clusters on trees, while the russet toughshank has no ring and grows on leaf litter, not on trunks. It's also confused with funnels (Clitocybe) — their gills are clearly decurrent, running down the stem, while the toughshank's are merely attached.

Among the thin-stemmed russet mushrooms of broadleaf woods there are almost no dangerous lookalikes. The biggest risk is mistaking it for a young poisonous funeral bell (Galerina marginata): its cap is also russet, but it has a ring on the stem and a rusty-brown spore print (the toughshank's is white). The funeral bell grows on wood, not on leaf litter. If in doubt — leave it.