Trooping funnel - Infundibulicybe geotropa
- The Foraging Course Company
- Jun 11
- 2 min read
Edible mushroom - novice Season - autumn to winter Common names Trooping funnel, trooping funnel cap, giant funnel, monk's head, Rickstone funnel cap
Scientific name meaning: Infundibulicybe comes from the Latin infundibulum, meaning a funnel, the Greek kybe, meaning head. Geotropa is also Greek in origin and means in the direction of the earth
Habitat  Can be found in woodland and near to trees. |
Overall structure and growth  The trooping funnel is a saprobic mushroom found in troops, rings and partial rings in woodland and underneath trees. |
Cap  Cream to buff in colour, the caps start off convex with a prominent central umbo (bump). The caps flatten out before becoming funnel-shaped and reach 10 to 20cm in diameter. The umbo is still present in the central depression of the cap until it becomes very mature. |
Gills and spores  The deeply decurrent (running down the stem) gills are cream coloured, crowded and broad. The spore colour is white. |
Stem  The exceptionally tall stem can reach 25cm or taller and is fibrous. It is 2 to 6cm in width and cylindrical down to the base, where it often is swollen. It has no stem ring and cream to buff coloured. |
Flesh, taste and smell  The flesh is cream or white. The smell is strong and pleasant to somewhat aromatic. The taste is mild. |
Possible lookalikes  Could be confused with the poisonous livid pinkgill (Entoloma sinuatum), which has a slightly unpleasant smell and gills that age to pink or the fleecy milkcap (Lactarius vellereus), pictured, but it has no umbo, oozes milk/latex from its gills when damaged. Could be mistaken for poisonous Clitocybe species but these have caps less than 15cm in diameter and stems less than 20cm tall. |
Use as food This mushroom should be cooked. The caps are excellent fried and retain their texture and size. They have a rich, meaty flavour. The stems are tough but can be dried and powdered to make an excellent stock powder Hazards There are some guides that suggest this mushrooms cause gastric intolerance in some people. However, we know of no known cases. Regardless, it is always wise to do a tolerance test with new foods. This mushroom often grows near roads. Mushrooms can bioaccumulate toxins, including heavy metals, so roadside harvesting should be avoided
Use in herbal medicine and medicine Has been shown to have some antimicrobial activity under laboratory conditions
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner Other uses None known Importance to other species Provides food for a the larvae of a number of invertebrates
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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