Dark violet-blue to purplish black, fan- to funnel-shaped caps with a veined, wrinkled underside, fused at the base into compound clusters under spruce and fir. Despite its common name it is not a chanterelle but a member of the Thelephoraceae. A 2017 study split the former single species into five; P. multiplex in the strict sense is a small-spored species of northeastern North America and eastern Asia.
Edible, with a mild taste; it is collected for sale in Korea, Japan and China, and Arora rated its flavor inferior to Craterellus. Its blue-black clustered fans with a veined underside are distinctive, but the edibility record predates the 2017 split into five species, which can only be separated by spore size or DNA.
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Habitat
Ectomycorrhizal with conifers, mainly spruce and fir. Singly or in small to large clusters on often sandy soil and conifer duff, among mosses or lichens, often at higher elevations. Late August to early October in the Northeast.
Distribution
Northeastern North America from Newfoundland south to North Carolina, and eastern Asia south to southern China; Asian and American populations may prove to be different species. Older records from western North America (Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico) need re-examination, since P. atrolazulinus is commonest in the West and the large-spored P. purpureoniger and P. marymargaretae also occur there.
Characteristics
Clusters: typically about 15 cm tall and 30 cm wide, sometimes much larger. Cap: 3-8 cm, spoon-, fan- or funnel-shaped, violet-black to dark bluish with a gray to gray-white margin when young. Underside: shallow vein-like wrinkles running down the stem, not true gills; matte. Stem: up to 5 cm, dark purplish black, smooth, often fused at the base. Flesh: soft and brittle, black throughout. Spore print: white. Spores: small, warty, hyaline; average about 6.3 x 5.3 um (Voitk et al. 2017).
