Fragrant Funnel

Habitat

Found in leaf litter, mossy areas, and grass, most commonly beneath deciduous trees or in mixed evergreen forests. It frequently grows in rich redwood duff and occasionally on wood chip mulch. It appears on the ground, occurring either solitarily, in small groups, or in scattered troops.

Photos

Appearance

Cap

1.2–7 cm wide, convex to flattened, often developing a shallow central depression with age; the margin can be wavy, ruffled, or translucent-striate. The surface is smooth and slightly greasy to dry. It is hygrophanous, appearing pale yellowish-brown, tan, or pinkish-buff when moist and fading to whitish-cream when dry, often retaining a darker center.

Stem

2–7.5 cm long and 2–8 mm thick, cylindrical and sometimes curved or slightly woolly at the base. The surface is smooth, slightly silky, or finely fibrillose. Color is similar to the cap or slightly paler, ranging from whitish to beige-tan.

Gills

Crowded to moderately spaced; attachment varies from adnexed or adnate to slightly decurrent. Color ranges from white to watery beige or pinkish-buff.

Flesh

Thin and watery, colored whitish to buff.

Odor

Strong and distinctive with a sweet, aniseed, or licorice-like fragrance.

Taste

Mild to slightly sweet.

Spore print

White, sometimes described with a slight pinkish or buff tint.

Edibility

This mushroom is edible and sometimes used as a flavoring agent, though it is often advised to avoid it because it is easily confused with poisonous species or those of unknown edibility. It possesses a strong, sweet smell of aniseed or licorice, although this fragrance and the slightly sweet flavor do not appear to be retained after cooking. It is structurally similar to several other drab-colored mushrooms that lack the anise odor, and it is related to the larger, thicker-fleshed Clitocybe odora, which typically has blue-green or bluish tones.

Nutrient Source

It is a saprotrophic fungus, meaning it obtains nutrients by decomposing dead organic matter, such as leaf litter and wood, found in its environment.

Common Names

Dutch

Slanke anijstrechterzwam

English

Fragrant Funnel

Finnish

anismalikka

French

Clitocybe anisé strié

German

Duft-Trichterling

Norwegian Bokmål

hvit anistraktsopp

Norwegian Nynorsk

kvit anistrektsopp

Swedish

dofttrattskivling

Welsh

Twmffat/Twndish Peraroglus

Synonyms

• Agaricus fragrans
• Agaricus fragrans
• Agaricus obsoletus
• Clitocybe deceptiva
• Clitocybe depauperata
• Clitocybe fragrans
• Lepista fragrans
• Omphalia fragrans
• Pseudolyophyllum fragrans