mushrooms with a chanterelle morphology
This chanterelle is one of the most beautiful and distinctive chanterelles, thanks to its bright red color. Cantharellus cinnabarinus is small to medium in size, meaning that you have to pick quite a few if you want to make a meal out of them.
These mushrooms are the mycophagist’s (fungus-eater’s) best friends. They taste great, are large enough to eat, often fruit plentifully, are easy to spot, and are unlikely to be confused with anything else (if you know what to look for). Golden Chanterelles are very popular in Europe. The European species is called the “Griole” in France, while Germans call it the “” These choice edibles can also be found in North America, where they fruit from summer through fall. Look for chanterelles near streams, in hollows, and in other tree-covered places with abundant moisture but good drainage. I recently found some in a small park in Northern Virginia, so they may be more common than you would expect!
This morphological group of mushrooms is defined by the presence of blunt ridges rather than true gills. These ridges can vary from well-developed, gill-like structures to small wrinkles on a nearly smooth hymenium (spore-bearing surface). Another defining feature of the chanterelles and trumpets is that the hymenium is always decurrent. This means that the ridges run down the stipe/stem, often going all the way to the ground. Chanterelles usually have a pileus (cap) that is flat to depressed in the center. The mushroom that defines this morphology is Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as “The Golden Chanterelle,” or simply “The Chanterelle.” Trumpets, which are a subset of chanterelles, usually have a nearly smooth hymenium and are distinguished by an extremely depressed pileus, which results in the trumpet/vase/funnel shape of the fruiting bodies. This morphology is best illustrated by Craterellus cornucopioides and its almost indistinguishable American relative Craterellus fallax. Commonly known as...
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