Velvet Shank – forty years ago in my nature notebooks

Forty years ago I spotted some beautiful fungi on a rotten stump. Here’s the entry I made in my nature notebooks:

Velvet Shank - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Today I’m walking in the woods with my fellow fungi enthusiasts and we see Velvet Shank. They are small, yellow, young and like buttons.

Velvet Shank - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Further along I spot a larger one:

Velvet Shank - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

The twelve year old me collected specimens and drew, described and measured them:

Velvet Shank - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Velvet Shank is such a brilliant name for them, with their deep burgundy coloured stems.

Velvet Shank - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

They’re even more stunning from below:

Velvet Shank - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

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