Cantharellus cinnabarinus, the cinnabar or red chanterelle, is a small, slender, flamingo-pink to cinnabar-red chanterelle of eastern North American hardwood forests. It has blunt, forked false gills that run down the stem, and its colour comes from the carotenoid canthaxanthin. It is ectomycorrhizal and fruits on the ground in summer and autumn.
Considered a good edible, though mild in flavour; it keeps its colour when cooked. Its small size means many are needed for a dish. Confirm the blunt, forked false gills and growth on soil. Orange jack-o'-lantern mushrooms (Omphalotus illudens, poisonous) have sharp true gills and grow in clusters on wood. Red waxcaps (Hygrocybe) have true gills.
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Habitat
Ectomycorrhizal with hardwoods, especially oaks and beech, also shagbark hickory and bigtooth aspen; on soil among moss, leaves and grass and along paths; prefers acidic soils.
Distribution
Widely distributed in eastern North America (for example Missouri, Illinois, Michigan and Quebec).
Characteristics
Cap: 1-4 cm (fruitbodies to about 7 cm); convex becoming flat or shallowly depressed; dry, bald; margin becoming wavy; flamingo pink to cinnabar red, pinkish orange or reddish orange. False gills: well spaced, decurrent, forked and often cross-veined; colored like the cap or slightly paler. Stem: 1-4 cm long, 0.5-1 cm thick; usually tapering downward; colored like the cap or paler; basal mycelium white to pale yellowish. Flesh: whitish or tinged cap colour; unchanging when cut. Odour: sweet, fragrant. Taste: mild or slightly peppery. Spore print: Whitish to slightly pinkish. Spores: ellipsoid, smooth, 6-8 x 3.5-5 um.
