''Cantharellus minor'' is a

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

native to eastern North America. It is one of the smallest of the genus '' Cantharellus'', which includes other edible chanterelles. It is suspected of being

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, 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 ...

l, found in association with

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

. Recently, ''C. minor'' has been reported from semi-evergreen to evergreen forests in the Western Ghats,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India forming

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...

l associations with tree species like ''

Vateria indica ''Vateria indica'', the white dammar, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats mountains in India. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is a large canopy or emergent tree frequent in tropical wet ev ...

'', ''

Diospyros malabarica ''Diospyros malabarica'', the gaub tree, Malabar ebony, black-and-white ebony or pale moon ebony, is a species of flowering tree in the family Ebenaceae that is native to the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia. It is a long-lived, very slow ...

'', ''

Hopea parviflora ''Hopea parviflora'' is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to India. It is called 'kampakam' or 'thampakam' in Malayalam and கோங்கு 'vellaikongu' or 'irubogam' in Tamil language, Tamil. ''Hopea ...

'', and ''

Myristica ''Myristica'' is a genus of trees in the family Myristicaceae. There are over 150 species, distributed in Asia and the western Pacific. The type species of the genus, and the most economically important member, is ''Myristica fragrans'' (the nut ...

'' species. The cap of ''C. minor'' ranges from wide and is convex and umbonate, often shallowly depressed, becoming funnel-shaped in some. The yellowish gills are decurrent, and fade to yellowish white in maturity. The stipe is less than tall. They fruit in the summer and fall. Although insubstantial, they are

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 ...

References

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minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

Fungi described in 1872 Fungi of Asia Fungi of North America Edible fungi Taxa named by Charles Horton Peck {{Agaricomycetes-stub