Identification difficulty: Intermediate
Warning: despite the frequency with which these are foraged, I feel that the risks associated have been downplayed. I personally believe there is the potential for confusion with deadly species. That said, I believe you can learn how to rule those out.
Summer 2021 is turning out to be a nation-wide bumper year for the greater chanterelle family, which includes cinnabar red chanterelles, black trumpets, and, of course, golden chanterelles.
Facebook foraging and mycology groups, Reddit foraging and mycology boards are all flush with pictures of, well, flushes of mushrooms. There's a lot of books, websites, etc out there that talk about how to identify golden chanterelles, so I wasn't really sure how necessary another post would be, but at the same time I'm seeing a lot of misinformation or incomplete information going around on social media.
Overview and history
The term chanterelle can be used to describe a group of related genera (that's plural for genus): Cantharellus, Craterellus, Gomphus, and Polyozellus. Craterellus includes the black trumpets and yellow foot mushrooms, Gomphus includes the pig's ear, Polyozellus is a one-species genus that contains the blue chanterelle, and Cantharellus contains several species of golden chanterelles, red or cinnabar chanterelles, the smooth chanterelle and the white chanterelle. The lobster mushroom, Hypomyces lactifluorum, looks similar but it is unrelated and, while also being a choice edible, tastes completely different from chanterelles of any kind.
For most people, however, when they think of chanterelles, only the golden chanterelle comes to mind.
Golden chanterelles are a gourmet wild mushroom, one of the "big five" mushrooms that command the highest prices globally. The "big five" include truffles, matsutake, chanterelles, morels, and porcini. These are the five most expensive mushrooms for their CULINARY value; there are some fungi which sell for higher prices due to their use in Eastern medicine.
We don't know exactly when humanity began it's love affair with the golden chanterelle. Asian, African and European cultures all have long histories of the mushroom, and we can safely assume it was eaten before it was recorded as well. In Europe, chanterelles were reserved for the nobility for many centuries.
Chanterelles are a mycorrhizal species, they grow in symbiosis with trees. This makes them very difficult and expensive to cultivate, as one would need to both own a forest and be willing to wait for decades while the trees and the fungi mature, before the fugal mycelium would grow mushrooms.
At one point in time, all golden chanterelles were believed to be Cantharellus cibarius, and older books will still refer to them this way. With the advent of DNA testing, we now know that there are many, many kinds of golden chanterelles, some with sub-varieities, and that C. cibarius only grows in Europe.
Golden Chanterelles as a group
Since "golden chanterelles" are a group, there are many, many color variations. There are species that are all golden or egg-yolk yellow, some that have white areas, such as a white stem, white gills or a white cap, and some that have those same variations except pink instead of white.
For the sake of this article, the term "golden chanterelle" will apply to any species that is 50% or more "egg-yolk yellow"., We won't be trying to identify individual golden chanterelle species, as all are edible, all are choice and they share many identification features.
NOTE: Some chanterelles have a tan or deep yellow spot at the center of the cap. I would personally avoid these. And you must avoid all potential "chanterelle" species that have a cap or stem that is entirely tan or brown as it may be a potentially deadly look-alike in the genus Paxillus. Also spore print any all-yellow mushroom with decurrent gills where the stem seems thin for the cap size.
Why I think chanterelles are an intermediate difficulty to ID
Overall, I think most foraging and mushroom hunting books leave out important potential look-a-like species for the chanterelle. They generally talk about false chanterelles, Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, and jack o' lanterns, Omphalotus species, as the only real danger. Both these mushrooms can make you sick, Omphalotus can make you seriously sick, but neither will kill you.
I'm more concerned about Paxillus species, which have the potential to be deadly poisonous. Paxillus are not super common and don't STRONGLY resemble chanterelles, at least not in America. However, there are yellow varieties in Australia, which could always make the cross-ocean trek on tree roots. And there are brown-yellow varieties in North America and Europe which we will go into in greater detail.
As I've said on the page where I define these terms, if I feel there is potential for confusion with a deadly species, then I consider it to be an intermediate difficulty identification.
How to identify golden chanterelles
1. Growth on the ground around trees. Not on wood, in empty fields or in beachy areas.3. Trumpet, funnel or vase shaped, with or without a stem.
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| Sorry about the blurry photo, but you can still see the decurrent false gills running down the stem |
6. False "gills" branch frequently and/or have a network of cross-hatching wrinkles
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| I have somewhat larger than average hands for a woman, but this is a pretty standard size for a mature chanterelle throughout most of North America. The west coast will have somewhat larger species. |
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| Very iconic "ruffling" at the edge of the cap |
Deeper dive: false gills
The most important feature when identifying chanterelle mushrooms is the presence of false gills--or in some cases no gills at all. The smooth chanterelle has no gills, which makes it a safer, even beginner mushroom. But we aren't talking about that in this post, maybe sometime later when I get some good pics.
For now we are talking about the majority of golden chanterelles, which have false gills. Unfortunately, because there are so many species of chanterelles, false gills can manifest in rather different ways. They also change in appearance as the mushroom matures.
In this first picture, taken from a Colorado chanterelle, the presence of false gills is very clear: they are branching, wide spread and its easy to see that they attach to the main body of the mushroom gradually--as a wrinkle in the flesh.
In the second picture, the mushroom is younger, and the wrinkles are tighter together. It's also a different species, from Texas, and has a network of interconnected wrinkles, like a spiderweb, that makes it hard to see how they attach to the flesh of the mushroom.
When it's difficult to see the attachment, it sometimes helps to look at the edge of the mushroom, like where I've put the blue dot. Don't be afraid to break out a magnifying glass or to utilize the zoom feature on your phone's camera.
When trying to understand the difference between false and true gills, I find it helps to think of your ear and your hair. The ridges inside your ear are the false gills: they are all one piece, but parts jut out and have raised forms, but attach right back to the ear. True gills are like your hair: though they are attached pretty firmly to your head, they are actually a separate piece. They can be removed without damaging your scalp, just like true gills can be removed (albeit with some difficulty) from the cap or stem of the mushroom without damaging it.
In this video below I show how you can scrape away the true gills of a Hygrophoraceae while leaving the cap and stalk of the mushroom whole.
Color variations
Finding, harvesting and storing golden chanterelles:
All Cantharellus species are mycorrhizal -- exist in symbiosis -- with trees. The mushroom we see above ground is simply the fruit of the fungal mycelium. The mycelium itself is a vast network of hair-like fibers. In mycorrhizal species, the mycelium is underground, and wraps itself around tree roots, enhancing the tree's ability to absorb water and nutrients, in exchange for sugars from the tree.
For this reason, you will find chanterelles growing on the ground, in and around trees--not in fields or beach areas. Of course, you may encounter the occasional chanterelle growing in what appears to be an empty field. If there was once a tree that was removed, the mycelium can continue to live off the buried roots for some time. But unless you can find a nearby stump, I would avoid these outliers until you are confident in identification.
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| Forests offering a mix of hard and softwoods are your best bet if you are unfamiliar with the local chanterelle species, as they offer the most variety for symbiosis. Here you can see this chanterelle growing up amid pine needles and hardwood leaves. |
Different species of Cantharellus have symbiosis with different trees, and as a result, you can find chanterelles with hardwoods, spruce and pine, and at pretty much any elevation (Colorado), or lack thereof (Texas).
They prefer well-drained soils, but can be alkaline or acidic. They are most often found where there is nice ground cover to keep the soil moist: pine needles, fallen leaves or areas with understory plants are all good places to look. You will often need to push aside this debris in order to find them.
Golden chanterelles vary greatly by species in how they grow. Some species seem to prefer individual growth, other grow in small groups of 2-4, with their stems coming out of nearly the same place. Still others will grow gregariously over a 5 foot area but without touching each other.
Golden chanterelles are a little more heat-tolerant than their cinnabar cousins I discussed before. So they start to appear in early summer, June in the North, May in the South. If there is sufficient rain they will continue to fruit throughout the summer, even when the temperatures are over 90. If the rains dry up the mushrooms will dry out but may still be edible if reconstituted. However mid-summer chanterelles are prone to insect infestation, if you don't get them soon after fruiting, you might not want them.
As with cinnabar chanterelles, the goldens will fruit through August and early September, a little longer in the South, barring a cold snap.
Look-a-like species, some are poisonous!
For those of you who read through my post on cinnabar chanterelles, these golden chants share some of the potential look-a-likes. But the possibility for confusion is greater for cinnabar chanterelles than for goldens, so these are an easier ID overall.
Jack o' lantern mushrooms: a serious sickener
The gills of Omphalotus do not fork or branch, as most chanterelles do. However, as the gill configuration gets wider near the cap, the mushroom grows shorter "fill-in" gills that can resemble branching gills at a glance.
Image courtesy of user Treetail via Wikimedia Commons
- Omphalotus gills never have a horizontal crosshatch network, as some (but not all) of the chanterelles do.
- Jack o lantern mushrooms are most often (but not always) found growing in large (6+) clusters of overlapping mushrooms that all touch at the base. Chanterelle clusters are almost never more than 4. However, sometimes jacks can grow individually or in smaller groups.
- Jack o lantern mushrooms can reach sizes of 6" or more wide at the cap. While they don't always exhibit this massive growth, no chanterelle will ever be that large.
- In North American Omphalotus species, the cap edges for jacks will be round with very little "ruffling" or irregularity, unless the mushroom is very old and decaying. Chanterelles will always exhibit that ruffled edge, unless extremely young. Globally, however, some Omphalotus species also have this ruffled edge.
- The gills of some Omphalotus are known to glow in the dark. This is more of a fun fact or oddity rather than an ID tip, as not every species exhibits this glow, individual clusters may only exhibit the glow when near certain types of trees, and only very young and fresh mushrooms can show this effect. Also, you are unlikely to be foraging at night. That said, if you find some jack o lanterns and can safely get back after dark, it might be worth checking them out to see if the gills glow!
False chanterelle mushrooms: (officially) poisonous
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| Image courtesy of Walter J. Pilsak, via Wikimedia commons |
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, commonly known as the false chanterelle, is famous for only one thing: being mistaken for a chanterelle. It shares a LOT of common features with chanterelles, especially golden chanterelles. Both have forked branches to their gills or false gills, and the gill/false gill edges of both are quite thick.
Until recently, this confusion wasn't considered a serious issue, as the false chanterelle was believed to be edible, albeit flavorless. Many foraging, mushroom identification and edible mushroom books, published prior to 2000 or so, still list this mushroom as an edible species, yet new information has confirmed it can be poisonous, at least for some.
People still eat this mushroom globally, for example, it's a traditional food for native Central Americans. It is possible that the soil it grows in may affect it's chemical composition. For some people it is apparently a sickener, and it may have long-term detrimental effects that aren't noticeable immediately after consumption. It is best avoided by all, especially since it has no culinary value.
The false chanterelle is a highly variable species. Some collections closely resemble chanterelles or cinnabar chanterelles, others are dramatically different. Sometimes this mushroom is yellow, sometimes orange, sometimes brown.
If you read my post on distinguishing cinnabar chanterelles from Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, then you saw a large list of features that made it pretty easy to tell them apart. Unfortunately, while those tip are great for distinguishing cinnabar chanterelles, the highly variable nature of golden chanterelles renders some of them useless.
In all cases pay attention to the following:
- Stem colorization. H. aurantiaca frequently (but not always) features stems that are darker at the stem base than the gill colors. Cinnabar chanterelles will always be lighter at the stem base, and yellow chanterelles will always be lighter or the same color as the gills.
- Darker gills with yellow or white tops. Sometimes (but not always) H. aurantiaca will have red, red-orange, or orange-brown gills with a golden, yellow, cream or white top. While golden chanterelles will sometimes have different colored gills, those gills should only be red or red-orange in the case of cinnabar chanterelles. And cinnabar chants never have light tops. So if you see red or dark reddish gills with a yellow or cream top, you do not have a chanterelle.
- Stem length and thickness. Though there is a huge range of variation on chanterelles, some don't have a stem at all, while some have a very well-defined stem after the gills end, none of them have a long, thin stem after the gills end. Long meaning 3+ inches after the gills end and thin meaning less than .5" in diameter. Some chanterelles will have long fat stems, and many will have thin stems that are short. Unfortunately, while many H. aurantiac have long, thin stems after the gills end, not all specimens do.
- Look between the gills. Refer back to the deeper dive section, if your chanterelle has these "bumpy" semi-wrinkles between gills. Though not every chanterelle will exhibit these features (see above) most will have something and H. aurantiaca will never have growth between the gills.
- Blunt gill edges. You will most likely have to break out your magnifier for this one, but while the edges of chanterelle false gills and H. aurantiaca true gills look similar to the naked eye (they are both thick and branching) the edges of H. aurantiaca end bluntly, squared off, like cut cardboard. The edges of chanterelles are rounded, because they are really wrinkles that fold back on themselves. This might be the most distinguishing feature.
- True gills vs. false gills -- kind of. In truth, H. aurantiaca has true gills and chanterelles have false gills. Unfortunately, the true gills of H. aurantiaca are very shallow, causing them to look and act in many ways like false gills. You cannot easily remove them from the cap or stem without damaging the cap or stem, so they act like false gills do. They are thick like false gills (though with the blunt edges) and they taper gradually to their base, rather than with consistent thickness like most gills. This makes them look strongly like false gills.
Paxillus and Austropaxillus species: potentially deadly poisonous
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| Image from Wikipedia Commons, uploaded by user Sasata |
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| Illustration of Paxillus involutus Giacomo Bresadola, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
- Avoid mushrooms with all-brown or tan caps and/or stems
- Paxillus and Autropaxillus have true rather than false gills; check gills closely as young specimens of these mushrooms may look like their gills are false. In particular, the "in-fill" gills may look like a cross-hatch network of gills.
- Avoid a mushroom where the spore print is brown/dark, not yellow, white or cream like a chanterelle.
- Some (but not all) Paxillus have stems that are narrow for their cap size.
- Some (but not all) Paxillus have gills that run down the stem and end abruptly, all the gills ending together, in a circle. Chanterelles will generally be a bit more irregular.
Yellow Hygrophoraceae, Xeromphalina, Mycena: probably not poisonous
I'm not going to go into huge detail here, but if you are curious check out that other post.
Suffice to say, there are yellow varieties of all three of the above species, and they could possibly be mistaken for golden chanterelles as well. It's much less likely in the case of yellow chanterelles because these three species are all small, delicate mushrooms, (like cinnabar chanterelles) and golden chanterelles are larger and more robust.
Still look for the same things:
- Chanterelle stems are white and cottony inside, not hollow or translucent.
- Chanterelles have false gills, all of these have true gills. Though with the small size it can be hard to see that.
- The edges of chanterelle false gills are rounded. These others will have sharp gills edges.
- At maturity, all three of these will be smaller than your average golden chanterelle.
Cortinarius species: potentially deadly poisonous
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| One of the few large yellow Cortinarius species. Dick Culbert from Gibsons, B.C., Canada, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
You won't find any book warning you to look out for Cortinarius species while hunting for chanterelles. In my opinion, no one who seriously reads any descriptions could reasonably mistake the two.
That said, in 2008 a fairly famous author and his wife were seriously poisoned after eating "webcap" mushrooms, aka Cortinarius, after claiming they thought they were chanterelles.
The group were supposedly fairly experienced mushroom hunters who had foraged chanterelles before, and this led to a witch hunt against mushroom hunting that lasted the better part of the decade.
I think it's worth noting that the group in question changed their story, having first claimed they were hunting Penny Bun mushrooms (the British common name for porcini).
When questioned how on earth supposedly experienced mushroom hunters could confuse a brown bolete with a pore surface under the cap for the yellow-orange webcaps they ate, which have gills, they changed the story to say they thought they were chanterelles. Which could be at least the right color.
That said, while some Cortinarius species are yellow or yellow-orange, the species they ingested was supposedly C. rubellus, which you might guess from the Latin name is a deep reddish color.
It's also worth noting that many people who are poisoned by Cortinarius mix them up with Gymnopilus species, which look VERY similar to Cortinarius. Gymnopilus, commonly know as "big laughing Gyms" are hallucinatigenic. So is it possible this group mistook webcaps for chanterelles? Yes, anything is possible. Is it also possible they were trying to find big laughing Gyms and were too embarrassed to admit they were trying to get high? Not for me to say.
Either way, now I think it's important to itemize the differences. Fortunately this is easy to do. The only thing the mushrooms have in common is that some Cortinarius are yellow or yellow-orange. That's it, everything else is different.
Cortinarius species have true gills that are thin like paper, and easy to remove from the cap.
Web-like veil covering the gills of a
young mushroom
Chanterelles have thick false gills that are part of the main mushroom body.- Cortinarius have rusty orange spore prints.
- Cortinarius have a distinctive cap and stalk, they are not vase or funnel shaped.
- Cortinarius have gills that are separate from the cap, or only slightly decurrent, chanterelle false gills are deeply decurrent.
- When young, Cortinarius species will have a web-like covering, called a veil, over their gills which gives them the common name, webcap. This veil disappears in maturity but often (though not always) leaves a dark ring around the stalk.
Aphroditeola species - edibility unknown
The Genus Aphroditeola is extremely rare, and I've never heard it mentioned in discussions or books as being a look-a-like for Chanterelles. However, from what I can see in pics online, this mushroom is a dead ringer for a Cantharellus species, even including false gills. Historically, these mushrooms were even considered to be Cantharellus for some time, until DNA evidence showed they were separate.
Aphroditeola are defined as having rosey or pinkish hues, yet some of the images online show an overall yellow or cream variations. None of them could be called egg-yolk yellow though. And also, on closer inspection of those yellow images, I think they might be misidentified. At least one of them shows true gills, and I believe it's actually an image of some kind of Paxillus.
I can't find a whole lot if info, so I can only guide you to do your own research. I can't give you a smoking gun to avoid Aphorditeola species. That said keep the following in mind:
- Aphorditeola species are rare. You might never encounter one.
- They were once considered a species of Cantharellus, and given the similarities, it is likely people have eaten them, and no sickness has been reported.
- You can PROBABLY rule out Aphroditeola by avoiding mushrooms that are not 50% or more egg-yolk yellow.
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