Trooping Funnel

Habitat

This species is found on soil or among grass in open areas, fields, and woodland clearings. It fruit in both deciduous and mixed woods, specifically favoring beech and oak. Specimens typically grow in large groups, troops, or fairy rings.

Photos

Appearance

Cap

4–22cm wide; initially convex or flat with a prominent central bump (umbo), becoming funnel-shaped; margin is strongly incurved; surface is smooth or finely velvety, colored yellowish-buff, cream, or flesh-toned.

Stem

5–15cm long and 2–3cm thick; cylindrical or tapering upwards with a swollen, bulbous base that is often covered in white, woolly down; colored similarly to the cap or slightly paler; texture is tough and fibrous.

Gills

Crowded and deeply decurrent, running down the stem; colored whitish-buff, cream, or matching the cap, sometimes with a pinkish tinge.

Flesh

White, thick, and firm; does not change color when cut.

Spore print

White.

Smell and taste

Smell is faint but pleasant, described as sweet, floral, sugary, or like incense; taste is pleasant or indistinct.

Edibility

The cap is the only part recommended for consumption as the stems and older specimens are too tough to eat. Young mushrooms are preferred for their sweet, pleasant scent and firm white flesh. Foragers must distinguish it from smaller toxic species like the deadly Frosty Funnel, which lacks a central umbo and has a frosted cap. It should also be differentiated from the Livid Pinkgill, which has pink spores and a foul smell, and the Club Foot, which features a foul taste and a more swollen base.

Nutrient Source

It obtains nutrients by breaking down dead organic matter, such as fallen leaves and other plant material, in the soil.

Common Names

Dutch

Grote trechterzwam

English

Trooping Funnel

French

Clitocybe géotrope

Welsh

Twmffat/Twndish Cylchol

Synonyms

• Agaricus geotropus
• Agaricus geotropus
• Agaricus pileolarius
• Clitocybe geotropa — Trooping Funnel
• Omphalia geotropa