Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, commonly known as the
False Chanterelle, is an orange funnel-shaped mushroom which has been confused at times with the true
chanterellesCantharellus is a genus with many popular edible mushrooms. It is a mycorrhizal edible fungus, meaning it forms symbiotic associations with plants, making it very challenging to cultivate. Caution must be used when identifying chanterelles for consumption; lookalikes, such as the Jack-O-Lantern ,...
, however recent work shows its affinity lies with the Boletes in the order
BoletalesThe Boletales are an order of agaricomycetes, containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes...
.
The False chanterelle has an orange cap up to 8 cm across, initially convex but becoming funnel-shaped. The decurrent gill-like structures are orange and forked, which is a distinctive and distinguishing feature.
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Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, commonly known as the
False Chanterelle, is an orange funnel-shaped mushroom which has been confused at times with the true
chanterellesCantharellus is a genus with many popular edible mushrooms. It is a mycorrhizal edible fungus, meaning it forms symbiotic associations with plants, making it very challenging to cultivate. Caution must be used when identifying chanterelles for consumption; lookalikes, such as the Jack-O-Lantern ,...
, however recent work shows its affinity lies with the Boletes in the order
BoletalesThe Boletales are an order of agaricomycetes, containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes...
.
Description
The False chanterelle has an orange cap up to 8 cm across, initially convex but becoming funnel-shaped. The decurrent gill-like structures are orange and forked, which is a distinctive and distinguishing feature. The spore print is white. The orange stipe is up to 5 cm high and lacks a ring.
Distribution and habitat
It is widely distributed in Europe and North America, being found in conifer woods in autumn.
Edibility
It has been described as edible (though not tasty) by some experts, but other authors describe it as poisonous. This mushroom contains a lot of
arabitolArabitol or arabinitol is a sugar alcohol. It can be formed by the reduction of either arabinose or lyxose....
, which may account for the gastronomical symptoms some people experience. Recently it has been proved that this genus Hygrophoropsis is
taxonomicallyTaxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word finds its roots in the Greek , taxis and , nomos...
quite near pseudo-pax, and thus recommended not to be eaten.
Similar species
This mushroom is commonly confused with the
ChanterelleCantharellus cibarius, commonly known as the chanterelle or golden chanterelle, is a fungus. It is probably the best known species of the genus Cantharellus, if not the entire family of Cantharellaceae. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped...
; the distinuishing factors are color (true Chanterelle is uniform egg-yellow, while the false one is more orange in hue and graded, with darker center) and attachment of gills to the stem (true Chanterelle has them running down the stem unlike the false one).
The poisonous
Jack O'LanternThe Jack o'Lantern mushroom is an orange- to yellow-gill mushroom that to an untrained eye appears similar to some chanterelles, and is most notable for its bioluminescent properties. Previous names include Omphalotus illudens and Clitocybe illudens. Unlike the chanterelle, the Jack o'Lantern...
is also sometimes being confused with Chanterelle; straight, non-forked gills of this former is one of the distinguishing factors.
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