''Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca'', commonly known as the false chanterelle, is a species of

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 fr ...

in the family

Hygrophoropsidaceae The Hygrophoropsidaceae are a family of mushrooms that are gilled in appearance but lie within the Boletales. The family contains 18 species within two genera: '' Leucogyrophana'' and ''Hygrophoropsis'', with the best-known member being the "f ...

. It is found across several continents, growing in woodland and

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

, and sometimes on

woodchips Woodchips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste. Woodchips may be used as a biomass solid fuel and are raw materia ...

used in gardening and landscaping. Fruit bodies (

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s) are yellow–orange, with a funnel-shaped

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

up to across that has a felt-like surface. The thin, often forked

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

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 Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

, but has historically been eaten internationally. Austrian naturalist

Franz Xaver von Wulfen Franz Xaver Freiherr von Wulfen (5 November 1728 – 17 March 1805) was an Austrian botanist, zoologist, mineralogist, alpinist, and Jesuit priest. He is credited with discovering the flowering plants '' Wulfenia carinthiaca'', '' Saxifraga ...

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 ''Paxillus'' is a genus of mushrooms of which most are known to be poisonous or inedible. Species include '' Paxillus involutus'' and '' Paxillus vernalis''. Two former species—'' Tapinella panuoides'' and '' Tapinella atrotomentosa''—have n ...

''. Genetic analysis has confirmed that it belongs to the order

Boletales The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. T ...

and is more closely related to

bolete {{refimprove, date=July 2020 A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungal fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique mushroom cap. The cap is clearly different from the stem. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surf ...

Taxonomy

Austrian naturalist Franz Xaver von Wulfen described the false chanterelle as ''Agaricus aurantiacus'' in 1781, reporting that it appeared in the fir tree forests around

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

in October. He added that it could be confused with the chanterelle by the inexperienced, but that its true nature was very different; in contrast to its edible lookalike, he described it as "kind of pernicious". The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

word ''aurantiacus'', meaning "orange".

James Sowerby James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as ''A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or ''English Botany'', include his detailed and app ...

illustrated it and gave it the name ''Agaricus subcantharellus'', describing it as a "perhaps unfavourable" variety of ''A. cantharellus'' (chanterelle). The fungus was placed in the genus ''

Merulius ''Merulius'' is a genus of poroid fungi in the family Meruliaceae. , Index Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. the project is based at the Royal Botani ...

'' by

Johann Friedrich Gmelin , fields = , workplaces = University of GöttingenUniversity of Tübingen , alma_mater = University of Tübingen , doctoral_advisor = Philipp Friedrich Gmelin Ferdinand Christoph Oetinger , academic_advisors = , docto ...

in 1792, and then ''

Cantharellus ''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 plant ...

'' by

Elias Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired an ...

in 1821. Bernhard Studer-Steinhäuslin concluded it could only be classified in the genus '' Clitocybe'' in 1900, based on its white spores,

decurrent ''Decurrent'' (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward. In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petio ...

gills and lack of a ring. It was elevated to the status of genus in Emile Martin-Sans' 1929 publication ''L'Empoisonnement par les champignons et particulièrement les intoxications dues aux Agaricacées du groupe des Clitocybe et du groupe des Cortinarius'', with authorship attributed to

René Maire René Charles Joseph Ernest Maire (29 May 1878, Lons-le-Saunier – 24 November 1949) was a French botanist and mycologist. His major work was the ''Flore de l'Afrique du Nord'' in 16 volumes published posthumously in 1953. He collected plants fro ...

. Martin-Sans concurred with Maire's assessment of ''Hygrophoropsis'', suggesting that it represented a form intermediate between ''Cantharellus'' and ''Clitocybe'', and was thus worthy of generic ranking. The genus name refers to a resemblance to the genus ''

Hygrophorus ''Hygrophorus'' is a genus of agarics (gilled mushrooms) in the family Hygrophoraceae. Called "woodwaxes" in the UK or "waxy caps" (together with ''Hygrocybe'' species) in North America, basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are typically fleshy, often w ...

''. It is commonly known as the false chanterelle. Coloured Figures of English Fungi or Mushrooms - t

Two varieties described by Derek Reid in 1972, ''H. aurantiaca'' var. ''macrospora'' and ''H. aurantiaca'' var. ''rufa'', have since been promoted to distinct species status as '' H. macrospora'' (1996) and '' H. rufa'' (2008). Two other varieties of the fungus have been described, but they are not considered to have independent taxonomic significance by

Index Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partners along with Landcare Research and the Institute of M ...

: var. ''nana'' (Singer 1946), characterized by a small fruit body; and var. ''robusta'' (Antonín 2000), characterized by a robust fruit body and an odour similar to Maggi seasoning sauce. Pale forms of the fungus are sometimes referred to as var. ''pallida''. This

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

was first published by

Robert Kühner Robert Kühner (15 March 1903 in Paris – 27 February 1996 in Lyon) was a French mycologist most notable for reviewing many forms of agaric (mushroom fungus) genera. He studied at the Sorbonne, afterwards from 1921 until 1932, he was work ...

and Henri Romagnesi in 1953, but later considered

invalid Invalid may refer to: * Patient, a sick person * one who is confined to home or bed because of illness, disability or injury (sometimes considered a politically incorrect term) * .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real use As ...

as it did not conform to nomenclatural rules. Variety ''nigripes'', a taxon with a black-brown stipe, is invalid for similar reasons. ''H. aurantiaca'' var. ''pallida'' was published validly in 1995. In 1979, Egon Horak suggested that ''H. aurantiaca'' and the New Zealand taxon '' H. coacta'' were the same species, but neither Index Fungorum nor

MycoBank MycoBank is an online database, documenting new mycological names and combinations, eventually combined with descriptions and illustrations. It is run by the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in Utrecht. Each novelty, after being screened ...

accept this synonymy. According to MycoBank, ''H. aurantiaca'' has several heterotypic synonyms, i.e. different

types Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type In computer science and computer programming, a data type (or simply type) is a set of possible values and a set of allo ...

but considered the same species: * ''Agaricus alectorolophoides'' Schaeff. (1774) * ''Agaricus subcantharellus'' Sowerby (1809) * ''Cantharellus brachypodus'' Chevall. (1826) * ''Cantharellus ravenelii'' Berk. & M.A.Curtis (1853) * ''Merulius brachypodes'' (Chevall.) Kuntze (1891) ''Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca'' has been confused with the true chanterelles (genus ''Cantharellus'') because of overall similarities in appearance. However, the forked gills, frequently off-centre stipe placement, and dextrinoid spores of ''H. aurantiaca'' suggested a relationship with ''

'', prompting

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German-born mycologist and one of the most important taxonomists of gilled mushrooms ( agarics) in the 20th century. After receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Vienna in 1931 he worked ...

to classify the genus ''Hygrophoropsis'' in the family

Paxillaceae The Paxillaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi bearing close affinity to the boletes. Collectively, the family contains nine genera and 78 species. The type genus is ''Paxillus'', containing fungi with decurrent gills, and ''Gyrodon'', ...

in 1946. Several

pigments A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compoun ...

have been identified from the fungus, including the orange

variegatic acid Variegatic acid (3,3',4,4'-tetrahydroxypulvinic acid) is an orange pigment found in some mushrooms. It is responsible for the bluing reaction seen in many bolete mushrooms when they are injured. When mushroom tissue containing variegatic acid is e ...

, methyl variegate, the red

variegatorubin Variegatorubin is a pulvinic acid derivative. It is a red pigment that is present in many members of the Boletales, an order of the division Basidiomycota. It is generated from the oxidation of variegatic acid. Bolete species that contain varieg ...

, and several derivatives of

pulvinic acid Pulvinic acids are natural chemical pigments found in some lichens, derived biosynthetically from the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine, via dimerization and oxidative ring-cleavage of arylpyruvic acids, a process that also produces ...

. The presence of these pigments suggests a chemotaxic relationship with the

Boletaceae The Boletaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenial surface (at the underside of the mushroom), instead of gills as are found in most agarics. Nearly as widely distributed ...

Coniophoraceae The ''Coniophoraceae'' are a family of fungi in the Boletales order. The family contains 6 genera and 28 species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well a ...

, and Paxillaceae – families of Boletales with members that have similar compounds.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis confirmed its affinity lay in the order

in 1997, though later research showed it is not closely related to ''Paxillus'' or other gilled members of the order.

Description

The false chanterelle has a golden-orange

ranging from in diameter, initially convex but becoming funnel-shaped as the mushroom matures. The cap margin, which remains rolled in a little, becomes wavy or lobed in age. The cap surface is covered with a fine down. The

gill-like structures are narrow and forked, which is a distinctive and distinguishing feature. They are generally a more intense shade of orange than the cap. Along the stipe, the gills may be slightly crimped. The orange stipe is high and thick, and lacks a ring. It often has a darker, brownish, base. The ability to form sclerotia (compact masses of hardened fungal

mycelium Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates. A typical single spore germinates ...

) has been documented for ''H. aurantiaca'' in laboratory studies. These structures contain

glycogen Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body. Glycogen functions as one of ...

and

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, res ...

that may be used as food reserves during spore

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fe ...

. The soft, thin

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...

ranges from white to yellowish to golden-orange. It has an odour and taste described variously as indistinct, or unpleasant and earthy. 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 pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

is white to

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

. The oval

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

are 5.5–7 by 4–4.5

micrometre The micrometre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American and British English spelling differences# ...

s (µm), with walls that tend to thicken in age. The spores are

cyanophilous {{Short pages monitor '' H. tapinia'', found in a range extending from southern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

to Central America, is set apart from ''H. aurantiaca'' by its growth on or under deciduous trees (never conifers), and smaller spores, which measure 3.3–4.8 by 2.5–3.3 µm. Formerly a member of ''Hygrophoropsis'', ''

Aphroditeola olida ''Aphroditeola'' is an agaric fungal monotypic genus that produces pink cantharelloid fruit bodies on coniferous forest floors. The lamellae are forked and typically the fruit bodies have a fragrant odor described as candy-like, cinnamon-like or ...

'' is also similar in appearance to ''H. aurantiaca'' but can be distinguished from the false chanterelle by its smaller, pinkish fruit bodies and candy-like odour. It also has smaller spores. '' Chrysomphalina chrysophylla'' has a yellowish brown cap and unforked yellow gills. ''

Cortinarius hesleri ''Cortinarius hesleri'' is an agaric fungus in the family ''Cortinariaceae''. Officially described in 2013, it is found in eastern North America. It is named after American mycologist Lexemuel Ray Hesler Lexemuel Ray Hesler (20 February 1888 ...

'', an eastern North American species that associates with oaks, has a rusty brown spore print and a

cortina Cortina may refer to: Things * Cortina (tango), a short piece of music played during a tango dance event * Ford Cortina, a medium-sized family car built by Ford of Britain from 1962 to 1982 **Lotus Cortina, a 1963–1968 performance variant on the ...

in young specimens. The poisonous jack-o'-lantern mushrooms (genus ''Omphalotus'') comprise another group of lookalikes; however, they have straight, non-forked true gills. The European wood-rotting species ''

Haasiella splendidissima ''Haasiella'' is a fungal genus in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is a monotypic genus that contains only the species ''Haasiella splendidissima''. ''Haasiella venustissima'', formerly considered to be a distinct species based on its one and two- ...

'', sometimes confused with ''H. aurantiaca'', is most readily distinguished from the latter by its pink spore print and gills that do not fork.

Distribution, habitat, and ecology

''Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca'' is a widely distributed species. In Europe and North America, it is found in both

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

and

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

forests, as well as heathland, in summer and autumn. In Mexico, it is common in coniferous forests. It fruits from the ground or from decaying wood, on burned areas in forests, and is often found near fallen trees and tree stumps. The fungus can also grow on

used in gardening and landscaping, and so it also appears on roadsides and other locations where this material is used. Fruit bodies occur singly to scattered, or in clusters, and can be very abundant. Generally considered a dry weather mushroom, it can be plentiful when other mushrooms are scarce. Other locations where the false chanterelle has been recorded include Central and South America, northern Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Populations in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

represent a

complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

of undescribed species that are collectively referred to as ''Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca'' ''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

''. A saprophytic fungus, ''H. aurantiaca'' obtains nutrients from

forest litter The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stage ...

and decomposing wood, causing a brown rot on the wood upon which it grows. ''H. aurantiaca'' secretes large amounts of

oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and formula . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name comes from the fact that early invest ...

, a

reducing agent In chemistry, a reducing agent (also known as a reductant, reducer, or electron donor) is a chemical species that "donates" an electron to an (called the , , , or ). Examples of substances that are commonly reducing agents include the Earth met ...

and relatively

strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbolised by the chemical formula HA, to dissociate into a proton, H+, and an anion, A-. The dissociation of a strong acid in solution is effectively complete, except in its most concentrated solutions ...

. This stimulates

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs '' in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement ...

of the

humus In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...

layer of forest soil, and influences the solubility and turnover of nutrients (particularly

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

and

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

), which in turn affects their availability for use by forest trees.

Edibility

The false chanterelle is considered

, and may cause serious digestive problems. Amongst other toxins, it contains high levels of the

sugar alcohol Sugar alcohols (also called polyhydric alcohols, polyalcohols, alditols or glycitols) are organic compounds, typically derived from sugars, containing one hydroxyl group (–OH) attached to each carbon atom. They are white, water-soluble solids ...

arabitol Arabitol, or arabinitol, is a sugar alcohol. It can be formed by the reduction of either arabinose or lyxose. Some organic acid tests check for the presence of D-arabitol, which may indicate overgrowth of intestinal microbes such as ''Candida alb ...

. The mushroom was sometimes described as edible (though not tasty) until 1999. Fries described it as ''venenatus'', meaning "poisonous", in 1821. Considering the species edible, David Arora speculated that it may have been confused with similar-looking but definitely poisonous species of '' Omphalotus''. It is reported edible in Russia, among the edible mushrooms from Michael Vishnevsky (Nastolnaya kniga nachinayushego gribnika 2018) and in Grib Russya 2017 - S. Y. Afonhkin and L. Korsakova. It was eaten, though not especially highly regarded, by the

Zapotec people The Zapotecs ( Valley Zapotec: ''Bën za'') are an indigenous people of Mexico. The population is concentrated in the southern state of Oaxaca, but Zapotec communities also exist in neighboring states. The present-day population is estimated at a ...

of Ixtlán de Juárez in

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipaliti ...

. The Tepehuán people of northwestern Mexico also occasionally eat the mushroom, which they refer to in their

native language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...

as ''guin'xacan'' ("delightful") or ''kia's gio ("iguana lard"); there, it is commonly prepared by roasting over charcoal, or boiling and garnishing with cheese.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1265541 Hygrophoropsidaceae Fungi described in 1781 Fungi of Asia Fungi of Australia Fungi of Central America Fungi of Europe Fungi of New Zealand Fungi of North America Fungi of South America Taxa named by Franz Xaver von Wulfen