Velvet shank vs Funeral bell: how to tell them apart

The velvet shank fruits in cold weather and has a white spore print and a velvety dark stem base. The funeral bell has a rusty-brown spore print and a ring on the stem. A spore print settles it: white is velvet shank, rusty brown is the deadly funeral bell.

Side-by-side comparison

	Velvet shank Flammulina velutipes	Funeral bell Galerina marginata
Safety status	Edible with caution	Deadly
Cap	Orange-brown, 2–6 cm, shiny and slimy when wet	Honey to tawny-brown, 1.5–5 cm, sticky when wet, margin lined when moist
Underside	Cream to pale yellow gills	Pale, then rust-brown gills
Stem	Dark brown and velvety near the base, lighter at the top; no ring	Brown, fibrous, with a thin ring that often disappears
Smell	Mild	Mealy, like flour
Spore print	White	Rusty brown
Habitat	Clusters on dead broadleaf wood, especially in cold weather	Rotting stumps and logs, conifer and broadleaf
Season	Nov – Mar	Apr – Nov

Photos: František ŠARŽÍK, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alan Rockefeller, CC BY-SA 4.0

Quick tests that separate them

1. Spore print: white (velvet shank) vs rusty-brown (funeral bell).
2. Stem: velvety dark brown base, no ring (velvet shank) vs fibrous with a thin ring (funeral bell).
3. Cap: sticky orange-brown vs honey-brown, lined when wet.

Key clues for each

Velvet shank: Winter fruiting, a velvety brown stem base and a white spore print. A rusty-brown spore print means it is a funeral bell.

Funeral bell: A small, brown, wood-growing mushroom with a rusty-brown spore print. Rule of thumb: avoid all small brown mushrooms.

Frequently asked questions

More look-alike comparisons

• Sheathed woodtuft vs funeral bell: a deadly mix-up
• Wild enoki vs funeral bell: spore print settles it