Rooting Shank

Cap

3-12 cm. Bell-shaped to convex, than flattened with a broad umbo. Pallid or ochraceous to olive-brown. Surface slimy (viscid) when wet, shiny when dry, radially wrinkled.

Gills

Notched (sinuate) and slightly decurrent, broad, widely spaced. White-cream, the edge can be pale brownish, and covered with loose, cotton-like scales (floccose).

Stem

9-20 cm long, 0.3-1 cm diameter. Cylindrical with a thickened, long-rooting base, tapering towards the top. White at the apex, brownish with lengthwise grooves towards the base.

Bulbous Base

Has a slightly bulbous base with an obvious rooting section.

Flesh

Watery, soft and elastic in cap, tough and fibrous in stem, whitish.

Habitat

Saprotrophic on wood. Grows solitary or a few together, under or near deciduous trees, especially Beech, less often Oaks, attached to their roots or buried wood.

Possible Confusion

Xerula pudens has smaller, dry cap and cinnamon coloured velvety stem, it grows in the same habitat as Rooting Shank, but much less frequent.

Hydropus subalpinus has a silky-shiny, mostly dry or slightly sticky, smooth cap, and generally much smaller than Rooting Shank. It grows on decaying Beech.

Taste / Smell

Odourless or slightly fruity in smell, taste not distinctive. Edible, but not worthwhile. If you still want to eat it, we recommend you remove the viscid skin of the cap.

Frequency

Common and widespread in the UK.

Spores

White. Broadly ellipsoid.