Description
''Craterellus cinereus'' are greyish-black chanterelle mushrooms with thin, dark grey flesh that fades when dry. The fruiting body can reach tall. The cap is across, in an irregular funnel shape or infundibuliform. It is irregularly wavy at the edges with an inrolled margin. It is black when moist, brownish whey dry or in age. The stem is 2–8 cm long and up to 1.3 cm thick. It is smooth to lightly velvety in texture, sometimes with a white woolly base. The veins/ridges are dark grey, irregular forks which are distant and decurrent. The spore print is whitish, while the spores are broadly elliptical, smooth, non-amyloid, and 7.5–10 x 5–6 μm. The taste is mild and the odour indistinct.Similar species
Possible lookalikes include ''Craterellus cornucopioides'', ''Pseudocraterellus undulatus'' and ''Faerberia carbonaria,'' all of which are edible.Habitat and distribution
As a Mycorrhiza, mycorrhizal species it grows on soil with leaf litter in broadleaf woods and is found singly or in small groups. It is found in coniferous forests in Europe. It has a widespread distribution but is uncommon, being found in winter and early spring in western North America.Edibility
''C. cinereus'' is an edible mushroom with a good taste. It can be used similarly to black trumpets (''C. cornucopioides'') but with a milder taste.References
External links
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q12236668 Cantharellaceae Fungus species