Species details

Velvet chanterelle

Cantharellus friesii

Traditionally edible

Description

A small vivid orange chanterelle with a wavy margin and low, blunt, branching ridges running down the stem.

Identification features

The cap is usually only a few centimetres wide, orange to reddish-orange and finely velvety. The hymenium has blunt branching ridges rather than true thin gills.

Identification checklist

Check the small size, vivid orange colour and especially the blunt branching ridges that are integral with the flesh and run down the stem. True thin gills indicate another group.

How to separate similar species

Common chanterelle is larger and usually yellower. False chanterelle has true, thinner and more crowded gills and softer flesh. With orange fungi also confirm that growth is from soil rather than wood.

Habitat

Mycorrhizal in deciduous and mixed woodland, especially with beech; from late spring to autumn. It is regionally uncommon or rare.

Fruiting period

May, June, July, August, September, October