Species details

Ashen chanterelle

Cantharellus cinereus

Traditionally edible
Ashen chanterelle – Cantharellus cinereus

Photo: Paffka · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo source · License

Description

A small grey-brown hollow chanterelle with a funnel-shaped cap and ash-grey branched ridges.

Identification features

The cap is grey-brown, funnel-shaped, and wavy-edged. The fertile surface has sparse, thick, grey, branched ridges descending the hollow stem.

Identification checklist

Check the hollow fruitbody and true blunt, branched ridges underneath; black trumpet has a much smoother underside.

Detailed features

Cap
The cap is grey-brown, funnel-shaped, and wavy-edged.
Hymenophore
The fertile surface has sparse, thick, grey, branched ridges descending the hollow stem.
Stem
The stem is hollow, grey-brown, smooth and narrows toward the base.
Flesh
Greyish and thin, sometimes blackening in old fruitbodies.
Smell
Pleasant, often fruity and plum-like.
Spore print
Whitish.

Size

Cap diameter
2–5 cm
Stem height
3–6 cm
Stem diameter
0,4–0,8 cm

Habitat

Grows in deciduous woodland, often in groups, mainly in summer and autumn.

Fruiting period

July, August, September, October

Ecology

Trophic mode
Mycorrhizal
Host trees
Beech (Fagus)
Substrate
Forest soil
Notes
Grows in deciduous woodland, often in groups, mainly in summer and autumn.

How to separate similar species

Black trumpet is similarly dark and hollow but lacks such prominent thick branched ridges. Examine the underside of the cap.

Similar species

Interesting facts

Did you know? Distinct grey forked ridges beneath the cap separate it from the Horn of Plenty.

Extended-description sources