Toxic lookalike
Jack-o'-Lantern
Omphalotus illudens
Larger and brighter orange, growing in dense clusters from hardwood stumps or roots, with orange flesh. Its gills are sharp but do not fork repeatedly.
False Chanterelle
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca
Lookalike
The false chanterelle is an orange mushroom of conifer forests and wood chips that is often mistaken for a golden chanterelle. Its gills are thin, crowded and repeatedly forked, and its flesh is soft rather than stringy. Field guides disagree on whether it is edible.
The tell
Orange cap with thin, crowded, repeatedly forked true gills, on rotting conifer wood or duff.
Field marks
What to look at
Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.
- Cap
- Convex then flat to shallowly funnel-shaped, with an inrolled edge when young. Orange to orange-brown, often darker in the center, with a dry, finely velvety surface.
- Underside
- True gills: thin, crowded, bright orange, forking repeatedly, and running down the stem. They are usually brighter orange than the cap.
- Stem
- Orange to orange-brown, often off-center or curved, sometimes darker toward the base. No ring and no cup.
- Flesh
- Thin, soft, pale orange to whitish, and not stringy when torn. Smell is not distinctive.
- Spore print
- White to cream.
- Size
- Cap 0.75 to 3 inches wide (2 to 8 cm); stem 1 to 3 inches tall (2.5 to 8 cm).
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- Conifer and mixed forests, as well as wood chips and mulch.
- Grows on
- Rotting conifer wood, needle duff, wood chips and woody debris.
- Season
- Late summer through fall; fall into winter on the West Coast.
- Range
- Widespread across North America, especially in conifer forests.
Lookalikes
What the false chanterelle gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
EdibleGolden Chanterelle
Cantharellus cibarius
A chanterelle has blunt, shallow ridges rather than thin true gills and white stringy flesh, and it grows on soil.
EdiblePacific Golden Chanterelle
Cantharellus formosus
Shares its conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest, but has blunt ridges, firm white stringy flesh and a thicker stem.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Lookalike
Field guides disagree on this species. Some list it as edible but poor in flavor, while others list it as not recommended because it has caused gastrointestinal upset in some people. It is not among the dangerously poisonous species, and field guides cover it mainly as a chanterelle lookalike.
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
FAQ
Questions about the false chanterelle
Is a false chanterelle poisonous?
Sources disagree. Some field guides list Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca as edible but poor, and others as not recommended because it has upset some people's stomachs. It is not considered dangerously poisonous.
How do you tell a false chanterelle from a real chanterelle?
A false chanterelle has thin, crowded, true gills that fork again and again and are deeper orange than the cap. Its flesh is soft and not stringy, and it usually grows on rotting conifer wood or wood chips. A real chanterelle has blunt, shallow ridges and white stringy flesh, and grows on soil.
Where does the false chanterelle grow?
On rotting conifer wood, needle duff, wood chips and mulch, in conifer and mixed forests across North America. It fruits from late summer through fall, and into winter on the West Coast.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca
MushroomExpert.com
- Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca
Fungi Growing on Wood, Gary Emberger (MushroomExpert.com)
- Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca
Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia
- Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca
Index Fungorum
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