''Craterellus cinereus'', commonly known as the black chanterelle
or ashen chanterelle, is a species of fungus in the genus ''
Craterellus
''Craterellus'' is a genus of generally edible fungi similar to the closely related chanterelles, with some new species recently moved from the latter to the former. Both groups lack true gills on the underside of their caps, though they often ...
''. Found in forests in Europe and North America, it is
edible
An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from " eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...
.
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
300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...
is whitish,
while the spores are broadly elliptical, smooth, non-amyloid, and 7.5–10 x 5–6
μm
The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...
. The taste is mild and the odour indistinct.
Similar species
Possible lookalikes include ''
Craterellus cornucopioides
''Craterellus cornucopioides'', or horn of plenty, is an edible mushroom found in North America and Eurasia. It is also known as the black chanterelle, black trumpet, trompette de la mort (French), trompeta de la mort (Catalan) or trumpet of the ...
'',
''
Pseudocraterellus undulatus
''Pseudocraterellus undulatus'' is a species of fungus belonging to the family Hydnaceae. It has the common name sinuous chanterelle.
Synonym:
* ''Merulius undulatus'' Pers., 1801 (basionym)
* ''Pseudocraterellus sinuosus'' (Fr.) Corner, 1958
D ...
'' and ''
Faerberia carbonaria,'' all of which are edible.
Habitat and distribution
As a
mycorrhizal
A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...
species it grows on soil with
leaf litter
Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...
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
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy fruit bodies of numerous species of macrofungi (fungi that bear fruiting structures large enough to be seen with the naked eye). Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effect ...
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