506 



The; False Chanterkli^k (Seightey Poisonous) 

 CaiitharcIIiis auninfiacus Fries 



The false chanterelle is a common and widely distributed species 

 which grows in the woods on the ground, or on rotten wood, from 

 July to October. It is easily recognized by its orange-colored cap, and 

 by the yellow gills — which are very regularly forked. 



The cap is 2 to 7 cm. (i to 3 inches) broad, fleshy and soft, con- 

 vex, then expanded and plane, and finally funnel-shaped. The margin 

 is plane and even, or wavy and incurved — strongly so in young plants. 

 The color varies from yellow to orange or even brownish, especially 

 toward the center. The surface is smooth or slightly hairy, the hairs 

 short and silky, especially toward the center. The flesh is slightly 

 yellowish. 



The gills are thin, blunt on the edge, close together, straight and 

 regularly forked several times, and decurrent on the stem. The color 

 varies from yellow to orange. The spores are wdiite. 



The stem is somewhat lighter colored than the cap. It is at first 

 solid, then spongy and stuffed with a cottony substance, or sometimes 

 hollow, usuallv tapering slightly upward, smooth, and often curved. 

 There is no ring and no volva. 



Although CantJiarcUus auraiitiacns has been eaten by a number 

 of people in this country with no evil results, yet it has generally been 

 considered poisonous, especially in Europe, and, therefore, for the 

 present at least, it had better be left alone. 



Another species of Cantharcllus that is apt to be found, is C. cin- 

 nabari lilts. This is a small plant and very pretty, the whole plant be- 

 ing deep cinnabar-red. The gills are narrow, blunt on the edge, far 

 apart, and branched. This species is edible. 



Collected in Champaign, Jackson, and Union coimties. 



