Species guide
Chanterelle
Has dangerous lookalikesCantharellus cibarius
How to recognise it
An egg-yellow, vase- or funnel-shaped mushroom. The key feature is 'false gills' — blunt, forked, wrinkle-like ridges that run down onto the stem, not thin blade-like gills. Often a faint apricot smell.
Is it dangerous?
Prized by foragers — but it has toxic lookalikes, and edibility can only ever be confirmed by an expert with the mushroom in hand, never from a photo.
Commonly confused with
- Jack-o'-lantern — true sharp gills, grows in clumps on wood — toxic
- False chanterelle — more orange, finer true gills
What to do
Never eat a foraged mushroom identified only from a photo. Have any find confirmed by a knowledgeable local expert.
Never decide what's safe to eat or touch from a photo or a web page. Identification here is for learning and curiosity only. For anything you might eat, handle or that could harm you or a pet, consult a qualified local expert — and seek medical or veterinary care if exposure has happened.
Recorded 73,860 times in the wild worldwide.
Think you've spotted one?
Photograph it and let SpecieSense confirm the species — and show you the reasoning.
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