Cantharellus cibarius (chanterelles) vs Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (false chanterelles)
Often mistaken for each other, and I’ve seen quite a few people mixing these up recently, true and false chanterelles.
Cantharellus cibarius (true chanterelles) features:
False irregular gills (more like folds that easily rub off)
(Usually) uneven and wavy cap edges, often drooping over
Golden egg yolk yellow colour all over, consistent from cap to gill to stipe
(Usually) a thick stipe
White dense flesh inside
Rarely buggy (natural insecticide)
Preference for growing in moist woodland under deciduous trees like beech.
May have an apricot smell, but I don’t really smell it 🤷🏼♀️
Considered a prime edible especially due to the lack of bugs inside
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (false chanterelles) features:
True gills, closely spaced, and repeatedly forking (follow a gill up to the edge, and it’ll continuously split off into more gills). Gills are generally neat, but can sometimes be finely wavy
(Usually) a more uniform circular cap shape, but often not
Lurid orange colour to the gills, which differs from the cap and stipe colour
(Sometimes) has orange flesh inside, but this can be white too
Thin insubstantial weak stipe, that is often hollow inside
Preference for coniferous trees
Some find these smell unpleasant, I find them nice 🤷🏼♀️
Considered a toxic mushroom however they are edible with caution and many have eaten them intentionally or accidentally - they contain arbitol sugar, known to cause gastric upset in large quantities - I’ve personally tried them and thought they’re nice, but they’re a bit insubstantial for me to bother with
There are of course other Cantharellus and Hygrophoropsis species, but these are more uncommon - the main features are roughly the same to distinguish - the repeatedly forking gills vs easily rubbed off false gills is my favourite distinguishing feature.