Chanterelle

Quick facts

Scientific name

Cantharellus cibarius Fr. (1821)

Family

Hydnaceae

Edibility

Edible

Season

Jun–Dec

Usual altitude

142–1,421 m

Under which trees

Oak, Holm oak, Cork oak, Beech, Chestnut, Pine

Dangerous look-alike

Jack-o'-lantern · Omphalotus olearius

IUCN Red List

Least concern (LC)

How to recognise it

Cap

Egg-yellow, 3–10 cm, funnelled, wavy margin

Gills, pores or pits

Thick, blunt, forking folds that run down the stem; not gills

Stem

Short and solid, the same yellow, tapering to the base

Flesh when cut

Whitish to pale yellow, firm and springy; smells of apricot

Spore print

Cream to pale yellow

Where it grows

Oak, beech, chestnut and pine on acid soil, among moss and grassy litter. A long season — late spring to December, peaking after the autumn rains.

Confused with

• Jack-o'-lanternOmphalotus oleariusdangerous

  Cap

  Bright orange, 5–15 cm, convex then funnelled, smooth

  Gills, pores or pits

  True gills, thin, crowded, strongly decurrent, orange

  Stem

  Long, often off-centre, orange, darker towards the base

  Flesh when cut

  Orange right through to the centre, fibrous and firm

  Spore print

  White to cream

  Where and when

  Stumps and roots, even buried ones, of olive and other broadleaves; autumn

  How to tell them apart: True gills, thin and sharp, and flesh orange to the centre; a chanterelle has blunt folds and whitish to pale yellow flesh.

  True gills, thin and sharp, instead of blunt folds, and flesh that is orange right through rather than whitish. It usually grows in tufts on the stumps and roots of olive, holm oak or chestnut, but from a buried root it seems to come out of the soil and can stand alone: where it grows is not enough to rule it out. Toxic, causing violent vomiting.

• Fool's webcapCortinarius orellanusdangerous

  Cap

  Tawny orange-brown, 3–8 cm, dry, matt, finely felted

  Gills, pores or pits

  True gills, thick and widely spaced, orange-yellow to rust

  Stem

  Yellowish to reddish-brown, fibrous; cobweb veil remnants, no ring

  Flesh when cut

  Yellowish to pale ochre, thin

  Spore print

  Rusty reddish-brown

  Where and when

  Oak, chestnut and beech on acid soil; August to November

  How to tell them apart: True, widely spaced, rust-coloured gills and a reddish-brown spore print; a chanterelle has blunt folds and a pale print.

  A tawny-orange cap with true gills, widely spaced and rust-coloured, cobweb-like veil remnants on the stem and a reddish-brown spore print; a chanterelle has blunt folds and a pale print. It has been eaten in mistake for chanterelles. Its toxin destroys the kidneys without warning: symptoms take from a few days to three weeks, and by the time they arrive the damage cannot be undone.

• False chanterelleHygrophoropsis aurantiaca

  Cap

  Orange to orange-yellow, 2–8 cm, velvety, margin rolled under

  Gills, pores or pits

  True gills, thin, very crowded, forked, decurrent, bright orange

  Stem

  Orange, darker or brownish at the base; no ring

  Flesh when cut

  Yellowish to orange, soft and thin

  Spore print

  White to cream

  Where and when

  Pine and other conifers, on soil or rotten wood; autumn

  How to tell them apart: True gills, thin, crowded and forked, of a brighter orange; a chanterelle has thick blunt folds and firm flesh.

  True thin gills instead of folds, and a more orange colour. It tastes of nothing and upsets some people.

When it has been found

Finds recorded in Spain, by month: 982 in all, from GBIF. They show when it fruits, and also when people go looking.

Where it has been found

Each square is an area of about 20 km with recorded finds; the darker, the more finds. It does not pinpoint patches: for where it is coming up now, see the forecast map.

Where it comes up

Areas where this species is scoring highest right now.

• Montseny massif MassifsExcellent · peak excellent
• Garrotxa ComarcasExcellent · peak excellent
• Osona ComarcasExcellent · peak excellent
• Ripollés ComarcasExcellent · peak excellent
• la Selva ComarcasExcellent · peak excellent
• Lluçanès ComarcasExcellent · peak excellent
• Berguedà ComarcasExcellent · peak excellent
• Gironés ComarcasExcellent · peak excellent

In guides and news

• Huesca Pyrenees: altitude, permits and Ordesa

  Area guides · October 1, 2026

• Ripollés: a guide to the mushroom forests of the Pyrenees

  Area guides · October 1, 2026

• Urbión pinewoods: permit, altitudes and season

  Area guides · October 1, 2026

• Weekend 17–18 October: good-condition area up for all five leading species

  State of the forest · October 15, 2026

Sources

• GBIF: name, authorship and family
• GBIF: finds recorded in Spain
• IUCN Red List: threat category

The usual altitude and the trees come from our own fit of the model to those finds and to the Spanish Forest Map (Mapa Forestal de España).