Cantharellus cibarius
Chanterelle
Names
Scientific: Cantharellus cibarius
English: Chanterelle
Description
This species hardly needs an introduction with its lovely egg yolk yellow (free range not factory eggs!)fruit bodies. The cap can be convex when it is young, gradually flattening out and eventually becoming the familiar trumpet shape. Below the cap are the 'gills', technically wrinkles but this distinction can be hard to feel sure about particularly when you are first learning fungal identification. These wrinkles/gills run from the edge of the cap right down a good part of the stem; gills that do this are called decurrent. The stem itself is usually paler than the cap and can be almost white. The stem is usually quite chunky, solid and broader at the top than it is at the bottom. The spore print is pale creamy yellow.
Sometimes the fruit bodies have a lovely fruity apricot smell but this is not always present in Scottish Chanterelle and even when it is, some people find this hard to distinguish. It does not taste fruity at all.
This species is thought to be rather intolerant of nitrogen deposition and is not found in areas where air borne pollution is high. It is mycorrhizal and thus always associated with trees. It is common on mainland Britain and will grow with a wide range of trees including oak, beech and particularly In Scotland, with pine and birch. The fruit bodies are relatively long lived, partly because they resist the attentions of the fungus gnat and are rarely eaten by their larvae. This feature contributes to their popularity as an edible species!
Lastly, a word about names! In France (and amongst a good number of the foodies in the UK) if you spoke about Cantharellus cibarius. they would be calling it a Girolle! To them a Chanterelle is Cantharellus tubaeformis! Most UK field guides use Chanterelle for C. cibarius and that is what the Recommended English Names Project followed and is used here.
Please remember to submit your records to your local recording group or via the Scottish Fungi online recording form.