| False chanterelle | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Boletales |
| Family: | Hygrophoropsidaceae |
| Genus: | Hygrophoropsis |
| Species: | H. aurantiaca
|
| Binomial name | |
| Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca | |
|---|---|
 | Gills on hymenium |
 | Cap is depressed or infundibuliform |
 | Hymenium is decurrent |
 | Stipe is bare |
 | Spore print is white to cream |
 | Ecology is saprotrophic |
 | Edibility is not recommended |
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, commonly known as the false chanterelle, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It is found across several continents, growing in woodland and heathland, and sometimes on woodchips used in gardening and landscaping. Fruit bodies (mushrooms) are yellow–orange, with a funnel-shaped cap up to 8 cm (3+1⁄8 in) across that has a felt-like surface. The thin, often forked gills on the underside of the cap run partway down the length of the otherwise smooth stipe. Reports on the mushroom's edibility vary – it is considered poisonous, but has historically been eaten in parts of Europe and the Americas.
Austrian naturalist Franz Xaver von Wulfen described the false chanterelle in 1781, noting both its resemblance with the true chanterelles and people's propensity to confuse them. The false chanterelle was then placed in the genus Clitocybe, but it was later observed that its forked gills and dextrinoid spores indicated a relationship to Paxillus. Genetic analysis has confirmed that it belongs to the order Boletales and is more closely related to boletes.