Flame Chanterelle

Appearance

Cap: 1.5-5 cm wide; planoconvex when very young but soon developing a central depression and, eventually, becoming vase-shaped, with a perforated center; with a wavy and often irregular or scalloped margin at maturity; slightly moist when fresh, but soon dry; bald or, when young, with a canescent sheen from tiny, appressed, whitish fibrils; bright orange to orangish yellow or brownish yellow, fading with age to dull yellowish.

Undersurface: With fairly well developed, thick, blunt false gills that run down the stem; becoming cross-veined; pale yellow to grayish at first, developing pinkish to faintly purplish hues at maturity and, eventually, becoming very pale tan.

Stem: 2-6 cm long; 3-10 mm thick; equal or tapering to base; becoming hollow; bald, with a somewhat waxy texture; bright orange-yellow to orange; basal mycelium bright yellow.

Flesh: Thin; whitish.

Odor and Taste: Taste not distinctive; odor not distinctive, or slightly fruity.

Spore Print: Pinkish yellow to yellow.

Distribution

Apparently widely distributed in eastern North America; summer and fall.

Habitat

Mycorrhizal with oaks, beech, and birches; growing gregariously or in clusters in moss or sphagnum in damp, shady areas.