''Craterellus cornucopioides'', or horn of plenty, is an

edible mushroom Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi (fungi which bear fruiting structures that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye). They can appear either below ground (hypogeous) or above ground ...

. It is also known as the black chanterelle, black trumpet, trompette de la mort (French), trombetta dei morti (Italian) or trumpet of the dead,

djondjon Djondjon (also spelled djon djon or djon-djon) is the common name for a type of edible black mushroom often found in northern Haiti and used as a delicacy in some Haitian dishes, such as diri djondjon. The name djondjon does not refer to a single ...

(Haitian). The Cornucopia, in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, referred to the magnificent horn of the nymph Amalthea's goat (or of herself in goat form), that filled itself with whatever meat or drink its owner requested. It has become the symbol of plenty. A possible origin for the name "trumpet of the dead" is that the growing mushrooms were seen as being played as trumpets by dead people under the ground.

Description

The fruiting body does not have a separation into stalk and cap, but is shaped like a funnel expanded at the top, normally up to about tall and in diameter, but said to grow exceptionally to tall. The upper and inner surface is black or dark grey, and rarely yellow. The lower and outer fertile surface is a much lighter shade of grey. The fertile surface is more or less smooth but may be somewhat wrinkled. The size of the elliptical spores is in the range 10–17

µm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

× 6–11

. The basidia are two-spored.

Distribution and habitat

This fungus is found in woods in Europe, North America, and East Asia. It mainly grows under beech, oak or other broad-leaved trees, especially in moss in moist spots on heavy

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

soil. In Europe it is generally common but seems to be rare in some countries such as the Netherlands. It appears from June to November, and in the UK, from August to November. The mushroom is usually almost black, and it is hard to find because its dark colour easily blends in with the leaf litter on the forest floor. Hunters of this mushroom say it is like looking for black holes in the ground.

Related species

''Craterellus cornucopioides'' has a smooth spore-bearing surface, but the rare, distantly related ''

Cantharellus cinereus ''Cantharellus'' is a genus of popular edible mushrooms, commonly known as chanterelles, a name which can also refer to the type species, ''Cantharellus cibarius''. They are mycorrhizal fungi, meaning they form symbiotic associations with plants ...

'' has rudimentary gills. The colour and smooth undersurface make ''C. cornucopioides'' very distinctive. The forms '' Craterellus fallax'' (with a different spore colour ''en masse'') and '' Craterellus konradii'' (with a yellowish fruiting body) have been defined as separate species, but DNA studies now show that the latter should be considered part of ''C. cornucopioides''

Edibility

Horns of plenty are edible and choice. According to a Portuguese study, 100 grams of dried ''C. cornucopioides'' contain 69.45 g of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

, 13.44 g of carbohydrates (mostly mannitol, a sugar alcohol) and 4.88 g of

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...

, amounting to 378

calories The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...

. They contain fatty acids, primarily of the

polyunsaturated In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple e ...

variety, as well as phenols,

flavonoids Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

and 87 mg of

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...

. Along with ''Cantharellus cibarius'' (golden chanterelles) they are also a significant source of biologically active vitamin B12, containing 1.09-2.65 µg/100 g dry weight. They look rather unattractive, but have a very good flavour. When dried their flavour acquires

black truffle ''Tuber melanosporum'', called the black truffle, Périgord truffle or French black truffle, is a species of truffle native to Southern Europe. It is one of the most expensive edible mushrooms in the world. Taxonomy Italian naturalist Carlo Vi ...

notes; in this form it can be crumbled as a condiment.

References

External links

Mushroom-collecting.com: Craterellus cornucopioides

{{Taxonbar, from=Q857903 Cantharellales Edible fungi Fungi of Europe