Lathyrus Odoratus

By lathyrus

False Chanterelle

I was thinking how odd it is that some fungi names tell you what something isn't rather than what it is in its own right. It's a bit like being a parent when your name changes from 'John' (or whatever) to 'Tom's dad'. Anyway this is a beautiful apricot coloured fungi with a slightly quirky incurved margin and decurrent gills. Its called the false chanterelle to distinguish it from the much-prized and very edible chanterelle although I'm not sure how much confusion would arise. The chanterelle is much more yellowy in colour and has a distinctly wavy lobed margin and depressed centre, a bit like an irregular funnel. The false chanterelle isn't poisonous but is described as causing 'alarming symptoms including hallucination'. These ones were very well disguised among the fallen oak and beech leaves, in fact I didn't notice them until I was lying flat trying to photograph something else.

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