False Chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca)

Current name

Index Fungorum Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (Wulfen) Maire
MycoBank Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (Wulfen) Maire

Other names

Orange Chanterelle, Orange Hygrophoropsis, False Chanterelle.

Systematic position

Specific epithet etymology

Aurantiacus (= aurantius), a, um, mycol. — orange, pertaining to orange, from aurantium, i + -acus, a, um, indicating quality.

Synonyms

Agaricus aurantiacus Wulfen, in Jacquin, Miscell. austriac. 2: 107 (1781)

Agaricus subcantharellus Sowerby, Col. fig. Engl. Fung. Mushr., Suppl. (London)(no. 30 [no. 3 of suppl.]): tab. 413 (1814)

Cantharellus aurantiacus (Wulfen) Fr., Syst. mycol. (Lundae) 1: 318 (1821)

Cantharellus aurantiacus Krombh., Naturgetr. Abbild. Beschr. Schwämme (Prague): tab. 46, fig. 3-6 (1841)

Cantharellus aurantiacus var. congolensis Beeli, Bull. Soc. R. Bot. Belg. 61(1): 100 (1928)

Cantharellus aurantiacus var. pallidus Cooke, Ill. Brit. Fung. (London) 7: pl. 1057 (1104b) (1890)

Clitocybe aurantiaca (Wulfen) Stud.-Steinh., Hedwigia 39(Beibl.): (6) (1900)

Clitocybe aurantiaca var. albescens L. Corb., Bull. trimest. Soc. mycol. Fr. 40(1): 65 (1924)

Clitocybe aurantiaca var. lactea (Fr.) Rea, Brit. basidiomyc. (Cambridge): 273 (1922)

Clitocybe aurantiaca var. nigripes (Pers.) Rea, Brit. basidiomyc. (Cambridge): 274 (1922)

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (Wulfen) Maire, L'Empoisonn. Champ.: 99 (1921)

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca var. lactea (Fr.) Corner, Monogr. Cantharelloid Fungi: 134 (1966)

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca var. nana Singer, Farlowia 2(4): 546 (1946)

Hygrophoropsis lactea (Fr.) Rea ex Roux, Mille et Un Champignons: 100 (2006)

Merulius aurantiacus (Wulfen) J.F. Gmel., Syst. Nat., Edn 13 2(2): 1430 (1792)

Merulius brachypodus (Chevall.) Kuntze, Revis. gen. pl. (Leipzig) 2: 862 (1891)

Habit

Fruiting body

Agaricoid (cap and stipe)

Hymenophore

Lamellate (gills present, including folded or rudimentary)

Fruiting period (list)

JulJuly (1st–10th)July (11th–20th)July (21st–31st)AugAugust (1st–10th)August (11th–20th)August (21st–31st)SepSeptember (1st–10th)September (11th–20th)September (21st–30th)OctOctober (1st–10th)October (11th–20th)

Mushroom cap

3–10 cm, plano-convex, later depressed to funnel-shaped, fleshy, with a downcurved or inwardly rolled, uneven wavy margin; dry, velvety, orange-red, ochre, golden-yellow, paler toward the margin, often finely scaly at the center, fading with age to whitish-rufous.

Hymenophore lamellate (gilled). Gills decurrent on the stem, crowded, branched, concolorous with the cap or more orange.

Stem

3–6 cm long and 0.3–1.0 cm in diameter; cylindrical, typically rather short, often curved at the base; becoming hollow with age; concolorous with the cap, darker in the lower part, with a very light narrow zone at the point where the gills meet the stem.

Flesh

Dense, pinkish- and orange-yellow, thick in the center of the cap, with a somewhat unpleasant taste.
Odor: indistinct.

Microscopy

Spore print white. Spores thick-walled, dextrinoid, with a blunt base.

Ecology and distribution

In coniferous and mixed forests, on soil and litter, on decaying and buried wood, on rotting stumps and roots, sometimes near anthills; singly and in large groups, very frequently. A widely distributed species throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

Fruiting

July–October

Nutritional properties

Poisonous

Information about the edibility of this mushroom varies; it was previously considered mildly poisonous, but is now generally regarded as conditionally edible with low culinary value. However, this mushroom contains a high level of arabitol [(2R,4R)-pentane-1,2,3,4,5-pentol], a substance from the alditol group, which may well be the cause of gastrointestinal symptoms. Currently, there is a tendency to describe such poisoning as a distinct arabitol syndrome.

Conservation status

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation or regional Red Lists.

Similar species

In mushroom literature, the False Chanterelle is often compared with the Common Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius), from which it is easily distinguished by the velvety surface of the cap and the presence of true gills instead of folds.

Notes

The ability to form sclerotia (compact masses of hardened fungal mycelium) has been documented for H. aurantiaca in laboratory studies. These structures contain glycogen and protein, which can be used as nutrient reserves during spore germination.

Link to this page for printed editions

Shipovalov A.G. False Chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) - Mushrooms of Vologda Region [Electronic resource] URL: https://xn----7sbancweblffgklubds60aja.xn--p1ai/en/false-chanterelle-hygrophoropsis-aurantiaca (accessed: 13.04.2026).