Xerula furfuracea

Scientific name:  Xerula furfuracea (Peck) Redhead,
Ginns, and Shoemaker
Derivation of name:  Furfur- means "bran" or "scurf" and
refers to the texture of the stipe surface.
Synonyms:  Oudemansiella radicata (Relhan) Singer
Common name(s):   Rooted Collybia; Rooted Agaric;
Rooted Oudemansiella.
Phylum:   Basidiomycota
Order:   Agaricales
Family:   Marasmiaceae
Occurrence on wood substrate:  Saprobic; solitary to
several on and around deciduous stumps and trees or from
buried wood; May through October.
Dimensions:  Caps 2-15 cm wide; stipes 7.5-25 cm long
above ground with an underground portion which can be just
as long. Stipes 0.3-1 cm thick.  
Cap:  Dark brown to dark grayish-brown to yellow-brown;
wrinkled near the center; slimy to tacky or moist; surface
velvety at first, becoming smooth in age.
Gills: Attached; white.
Spore print: White.
Stipe: Whitish near apex, brownish below due to covering of
grayish to brownish scales or fibers; surface sometimes
developing a "snakeskin" pattern.
Veil: Absent.
Edibility: Edible.
Comments:  Check field guides (Bessette, Miller, Roody) to
confirm that specimen is not X. megalospora, a smaller and
paler species. For any of the Xerula species, the long,
rootlike, underground portion of the stipe is usually not fully
extracted before it breaks off.
 
More information at MushroomExpert.com:  


Figure 1. Young Xerula furfuracea specimens on the ground
in grass. The homeowner indicated a large pin oak tree had
been removed from the property in the last year or two. Most
likely, the rootlike stipe is attached to decaying tree roots.
Photo © Gary Emberger.


Figure 2. Maturing specimens with nearly flat caps. Photo ©
Pam Kaminski.

Figure 3. A characteristic wrinkled cap surface can be
observed on the specimens on the right. Photo © Gary
Emberger.

Figure 4. Attached, white gills of Xerula furfuracea.
Photo © Gary Emberger.

Figure 5. The "snakeskin" pattern of fibers often present on
the stipes. Photo © Gary Emberger.


Figure 6. Statuesque specimens of Xerula furfuracea on the
forest floor. Photo © Cathy Cholmeley-Jones.


Figure 7. These specimens, collected during a foray, give
evidence of the amount of digging needed to extract a
portion of the underground stipe. Photo © Gary Emberger.