An orange, funnel-capped mushroom with crowded, repeatedly forked true gills and a soft, finely velvety cap. It grows on conifer litter and woody debris and is commonly mistaken for a chanterelle, but it is thinner-fleshed and lacks the chanterelle's blunt, vein-like ridges and apricot odor. Despite its gilled, agaric-like form, it is related to boletes.
Not recommended; considered poisonous by Wikipedia, which says it may cause serious digestive problems, and treated as inedible by First Nature, which notes reports of hallucinations. Italy advises against it, though it is eaten in parts of Spain, France and Mexico. Its main look-alikes are chanterelles (Cantharellus), which have blunt, vein-like ridges, thicker flesh and a fruity odor, and the toxic jack-o'-lanterns (Omphalotus), which grow in clusters on wood.
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Habitat
Saprobic (brown rot) on conifer litter, woody debris and well-rotted wood, also in heathland, on wood chips, roadsides and burned areas; alone, scattered or in groups. Summer and fall, or over winter in warm climates.
Distribution
Widely distributed in North America; also Europe, Central and South America, northern Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Californian populations are a species complex (Wikipedia).
Characteristics
Cap: 4-8 cm, convex to flat or shallowly depressed; dry, finely velvety; orange to brownish orange, often browner at the center. Gills: decurrent, close to crowded, repeatedly forked, pale to bright orange. Stem: 2-5 cm long, up to 1 cm thick, often off-center, colored like the cap or paler, may discolor brownish; white basal mycelium. Flesh: thin, soft, whitish. Odor and taste: not distinctive. Spore print: white. Spores: 5-7 x 3-4.5 µm, smooth, ellipsoid, dextrinoid or partly dextrinoid (MushroomExpert; Wikipedia).
