Craterellus lutescens

Description

Craterellus lutescens is usually found in wetlands and stands out due to its bright colors. Unlike C. tubaeformis, which has a gray hymenium (the undersurface of the cap), C. lutescens has an orange or white hymenium. The cap of C. lutescens is irregularly lobed and varies in color from brown to bistre. Both the hymenium and the stem of C. lutescens are more vividly colored than those of C. tubaeformis. The hymenium can be nearly smooth or slightly veined and appears pink, while the stem is yellow-orange.

C. lutescens is not only edible but also used to create yellow dyes. It's sometimes called 'Yellow-foot' and is commonly found in damp conifer woods and wet areas, often growing in moss. It belongs to the Hydnaceae family within the Cantharellales order.

C. lutescens is known for its delicious taste and flavor. It can be used in various dishes such as omelets, sauces, soups, pancakes, and fish preparations. It can even be used in powdered form as a spice. Its golden-yellow color and forest flavor make it a sought-after ingredient. The mushroom has a sweet and pleasant taste similar to an apricot. It can also be soaked in dry or sweet muscat wine to enhance its flavor. Additionally, an extract from C. lutescens shows inhibitory activity on thrombin, a blood-clotting enzyme.

Common names: Yellow Foot, Golden Chanterelle, German (Starkriechender Trompetenpfifferling), Japan (トキイロラッパタケ).

Mushroom Identification

In short: The Craterellus lutescens can be recognized by its distinct features. It has a cap that ranges from 0.79 to 2.36 inches in width, shaped like a shallow or deep vase, and can be brownish in color. The underside of the cap is pastel orangish yellow and can be a bit wrinkled. The stem is hollow, bright orange, and slippery, with a white base. The flesh doesn't change color and has a sweet, apricot-like taste. The spore print is creamy yellow. These mushrooms are usually found in wet conifer bogs, near conifer trees, often growing closely together on moss or decomposed mossy logs during summer and fall. They are found in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and western Asia. When examined under a microscope, the spores are smooth and transparent, and the mushroom has specific cell connections called clamp connections.

1. Cap

   The cap is 0.79 to 2.36 inches (2 to 6 cm) wide and has a shallow to deep vase shape. It can be smooth or have innate brown fibrils. The color ranges from brown to orangish brown or brownish orange, which fades to tan.

2. Undersurface

   The undersurface of the cap runs down the stem and can be smooth or slightly wrinkled. It is a pastel orangish yellow color.

3. Stem

   The stem is 0.79 to 2.36 inches (2 to 6 cm) long and 4-11 mm thick, either of equal width or slightly tapered toward the base. It's hollow, bright orange, and has a lubricous texture. The basal mycelium at the base of the stem is white.

4. Flesh

   The flesh is whitish in the cap and orangish in the stem cortex. It is not very substantial and doesn't change in color.

5. Odor and Taste

   There's no distinctive odor. Taste is sweet and pleasant similar to apricot.

6. Spore Print

   Creamy yellowish.

7. Habitat

   This fungus is a type of mycorrhizal organism commonly found in wet conifer bogs, particularly associated with conifer trees. It grows closely together, often in moss or on decomposed mossy logs, during the summer and fall seasons. Originally described in Europe, it can also be found in various parts of North America, including the northeast, upper Midwest, Appalachians, and Mexico, as well as in the Caribbean, Central America, and western Asia.

8. Microscopic Features

   The spores are 10-13 x 7-8 µm in size and have a subellipsoid to widely amygdaliform shape. They are smooth and appear hyaline (transparent) in KOH, often with a single large oil droplet. The basidia, which are responsible for spore production, have four sterigmata and measure 50-60 x 7-9 µm. Hymenial cystidia are not present. The upper surface of the fungus forms a loose trichoderm made of cylindrical elements that are 5-10 µm wide. These cells have septa and walls that are 0.5 µm thick. In KOH, they appear hyaline to brownish, with terminal cells having rounded apices. Clamp connections, important for cell division, are present in this fungus.

Look-Alikes

1. Cantharellus tubaeformis

   Exhibit perforated brown caps, though they display less vibrant stem hues and bear imitation gills on the lower surface.

2. Craterellus ignicolor

   Shares a similar stature and stem coloration, yet showcases a vivid orange-yellow cap adorned with simulated gills or pronounced deep wrinkles.

3. Craterellus odoratus

   Boasts a profoundly vase-like shape, lacking a distinctly defined stem, and sports an overall hue of orange-yellow.

4. Cantharellus lateritius

   Presents a relatively smooth undersurface, but possesses a stout and substantial build, displaying an entirely yellow complexion (typically found in arid oak forests).

Synonyms and Varieties

• Helvella tubaeformis Schaeffer (1774), Fungorum qui in Bavaria et Palatinatu circa Ratisbonam, 4, p. 104, tab. 157 ('Elvela') (nom. illegit.)

• Agaricus aurora Batsch (1783), Elenchus fungorum, p. 93

• Helvella cantharelloides Bulliard (1790), Herbier de la France, 10, tab. 473, fig. 3

• Agaricus cantharelloides (Bulliard) Sowerby (1796), Coloured figures of English fungi or mushrooms, tab. 47

• Merulius villosus Persoon (1798), Icones et descriptiones fungorum minus cognitorum, 1, p. 17, tab. 6, fig. 1

• Merulius tubiformis (Schaeffer) Persoon (1800), Commentarius fungorum Bavariae indigenorum icones pictas, p. 62

• Merulius lutescens Persoon (1801), Synopsis methodica fungorum, p. 489 (Basionyme) Sanctionnement : Fries (1821)

• Merulius cantharelloides (Bulliard) Schumacher (1803), Enumeratio plantarum in partibus Saellandiae septentrionalis et orientalis, 2, p. 368 (nom. illegit.)

• Cantharellus villosus (Persoon) Ditmar (1814), in Sturm, Deutschlands flora, Abt. III, die pilze Deutschlands, 1, p. 61, tab. 30

• Cantharellus lutescens (Persoon) Fries (1821), Systema mycologicum, 1, p. 320

• Merulius xanthopus Persoon (1825), Mycologia europaea, seu complet omnium fungorum in variis europaeae regionibus detectorum enumeratio, 2, p. 19, tab. 13, fig. 1

• Merulius tubiformis var. ß lutescens (Persoon) Persoon (1825), Mycologia europaea, seu complet omnium fungorum in variis europaeae regionibus detectorum enumeratio, 2,

• Merulius undulatus subsp.* cervinus Persoon (1825), Mycologia europaea, seu complet omnium fungorum in variis europaeae regionibus detectorum enumeratio, 2, p. 20

• Merulius auroreus Persoon (1825), Mycologia europaea, seu complet omnium fungorum in variis europaeae regionibus detectorum enumeratio, 2, p. 19

• Cantharellus xanthopus (Persoon) Duby (1830), Botanicon gallicum seu synopsis plantarum in flora Gallica, Edn 2, 2, p. 799

• Trombetta lutescens (Persoon) Kuntze (1891), Revisio generum plantarum, 2, p. 873

• Craterellus cantharelloides var. villosus (Persoon) Quélet (1896) [1895], Compte rendu de l'Association française pour l'avancement des sciences, 24(2), p. 619

• Merulius luteolus Kuntze (1898), Revisio generum plantarum, 3, p. 494

• Cantharellus lutescens f. vitellinus P. Bouchet (1961), Bulletin de la Fédération française Société de sciences naturelles de Versailles, série 2, 24, p. 45 (nom. inval.)

• Cantharellus aurora (Batsch) Kuyper (1990), Rivista di micologia, 33(3), p. 249

Mushroom Identification

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