I am hearing the song, “The first time ever I saw your face” in my head as I think about the first time I met Enoki. You were hanging out on an Elm stump this past October. Just sittin’ pretty. And I thought, where have I seen you before? Ah yes, on my go-to mushroom experts’ YouTube channels BlackForager and Learn Your Land. (Yes, this is a thing I do for fun, watch educational videos on flora and fungi.) But are you you? I had never met you in the wild. And I needed to be sure because you have a deadly look alike – like really deadly – Deadly Galerina aka the Funeral Bell. (Oh, now I have “You can ring my bell, ring my bell” song in my head. I swear I am a walking musical. No, Funeral Bell, it’s not my time yet. No ringing my bell.) I went back to Alexis Nikole Nelson’s aka BlackForager’s and Adam Harrington’s aka Learn Your Land videos. Watched. Watched again. Reviewed my sample in hand. Okay, time to do a spore print. Yes white. No veil on the stipe (stem). Yes sticky cap – way sticky cap. When they are younger they are cream colored at the outer cap and orangish-brown in the center, browning as they age. Glossy. Growing in clusters. Yes stipe is cream at the top and browning at the base and yes velvety looking. Yes white to white to pale yellow gills. Now to check with Berkshire Mycological Society experts. I post my photos with a description and where I found and on what specie of tree and wait for a response. You know it’s positive when you get back, “Did you buy those?” Ha! No, I found them on the side of the road decorating a downed Elm. Success! I found Enoki aka Velvet Foot and Velvet Shank in the wild. Wait, you can buy them? Once I find an edible mushroom in the wild, I am so unlikely to purchase them in the grocery store. Because, you know, this fun seasonal challenge cannot be denied.

Wow, Enoki, you are so gosh darn cute! And you are indigenous to North America. And you are a cold-appreciative wild edible fungi which means I may just be able to harvest you again before spring. Let’s lightly sauté you and find out how you taste. Mmmm! Delicious. Let’s do this again!

I was able to harvest a few more clumps before the freezing temps froze the mushroom fruiting process. Always leaving a bunch for a) self-determination and b) other foragers, human and non. I love sharing my new confirmed finds with friends. Two such friends who trust me completely, for which I am ever grateful, got to sample this new-to-them mushroom in a mushroom-rice stir-fry I made. Mainly it involved brown rice, butter, and Enoki. I find it important to not add other flavors when sampling a new food. This way you really get to taste the new food and enjoy its flavor. So enthused was Julia Celeste that when she came up to visit, we went mushroom hunting, found some more Enoki, and sauteed them as part of our dinner. Once more with feeling, Enoki!

Enoki Flammulina filiformis, is a close relative living in China, Japan, and Korea. And this one you can certainly find in world markets to reap the health benefits if you can’t find Flammulina velutipes in the wild, like I did. Both are high protein, low calorie, nutrient dense, and high in fiber. Medicinally, this cute l.b.m. (little brown mushroom) is immune-enhancing, blood-sugar-balancing, anti-carcinogenic, and an antioxidant. Magically, this mushroom represents strength in numbers and finding your alignment within a community to enhance your work and the group’s. “Grow together and support one another.” Very applicable for Ashfield, yes? Yes!

References:
“Enoki” BlackForager, YouTube
“Learn To Identify Wild Edible Enoki Mushrooms” Learn Your Land, YouTube
“The Trick To Finding Edible Enoki Mushrooms” Learn Your Land, YouTube
“Winter Mushroom Foraging” Wild Food in the UK Ltd, YouTube starts 11:37 min in
“Enoki” Mushroom Spirit Oracle by Nicola McIntosh

Arianna Alexsandra Collins, naturalist educator, poet, writer, wild edible enthusiast, and Wiccan High Priestess.
This article is part of Ashfield Spice and Herb Club’s February 2026 zine, “The First Time I Met You.” Ashfield Spice and Herb Club is a project of the Belding Memorial Library.

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