Sheathed woodtuft - Kuehneromyces mutabilis
- The Foraging Course Company
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Edible mushroom - advance Season - all year Common names Sheathed woodtuft, two-tone Pholiota, brown stew fungus
Scientific name meaning: Kuehneromyces comes from the name of an American mycologist, Calvin Kuehner. Mutabilis is derived from the Latin mutatus, meaning change or alteration - a reference to the tone change when this mushroom's cap is wet or dry
Habitat  The sheathed woodtuft is a saprobic fungus growing on dead deciduous wood. |
Overall structure and growth  A fairly small two-toned mushroom found growing in tightly packed tufts. |
Cap  The cap is a tan colour when wet and dries a buff colour from the centre out. This gives it the effect of having two tones. It starts out convex, with a broad umbo (bump), and flattens with age. It reaches 3 to 8cm wide in diameter and has thin flesh. The white remnants of the partial veil can often be seen near the edge of the cap. |
Gills and spores  The adnate (broadly attached to the stem) or sinuate (small notch in gills before attaching to stem) are a cream colour at first and turn slightly peach with age. They are also crowded. The spore colour is dark orange-brown. |
Stem  The stem is 0.5 to 1cm in diameter and 3 to 8cm tall, and normally has a curve. It has a ring (or skirt) that is usually flared out and stained brown on top by dropping spores. Above the ring, the stem colour is cream. Below the ring, it darkens increasingly towards the stem base to a deep brown. The stem below the ring is scaly, with the scales appearing white-grey. |
Flesh, taste and smell  The flesh is tan coloured and paler in the cap where dry. The smell and taste is pleasant but mild. |
Possible lookalikes  Could be confused with the deadly poisonous funeral bell (Galerina marginata). There are small differences. The funeral bell has a silkier stem base; smells mealy, and dries from the outside of its cap to the centre. This is absolutely a mushroom for advanced foragers only. |
Use as food Must be cooked and can be used exactly as a cultivated mushroom. It has a very rich meaty but sweet flavour. This mushroom is often confused with the deadly poisonous funeral bell so should be left to advanced foragers only Hazards This mushroom is easily confused with the deadly poisonous funeral bell so should be left to advanced foragers only
Use in herbal medicine and medicine One study found sheathed woodtuft had some influenza anti-viral activity. Under labs conditions, extracts have been found to inhibit the growth of certain cancers.
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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