Chanterelle
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| Cantharellus cibarius | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Phylum: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Cantharellales |
| Family: | Cantharellaceae |
| Genus: | Cantharellus |
| Species: | C. cibarius |
| Binomial name | |
| Cantharellus cibarius Fr. 1821 |
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Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as the chanterelle or golden chanterelle, is a fungus. It is probably the best known species of the genus Cantharellus, if not the entire family of Cantharellaceae. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the lower surface, underneath the smooth cap, it has gill-like ridges that run almost all the way down its stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. It has a fruity smell, reminiscent of apricots and a mildly peppery taste (hence its German name, Pfifferling) and is considered an excellent food mushroom. Up to 6.7% of their tissues is vitamin С; as for carotene, they can be as much as 23.1 %, surpassing all known mushrooms.[citation needed][dubious ] Scientific research has suggested that the golden chanterelle may have potent insecticidal properties that are harmless against humans and yet protects the mushroom body against insects and other potentially harmful organisms.[1]
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[edit] Distribution
Chantarelles are common in northern parts of Europe and North America, including Mexico, in Asia including the Himalayas,[2] and in Africa including Zambia.[3]
[edit] Similar species
The false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) has a similar appearance and can be confused with the chanterelle. Distinguishing factors are color (the true chanterelle is uniform egg-yellow, while the false one is more orange in hue and graded, with darker center) and attachment of gills to the stem (the true chanterelle has them running down the stem unlike the false one). Other species in the genera Cantharellus and Craterellus may appear similar to the golden chanterelle.
[edit] Edibility
The chanterelle is considered to be one of the best wild mushrooms in the world. Almost all variations of it are edible, including the aptly named luminous chanterelle (not to be confused with Omphalotus olearius)
[edit] References
- ^ Ionic Liquids for the Production of Insecticidal and Microbicidal Extracts of the Fungus Cantharellus cibarius
- ^ G. H. Dar, R. C. Bhagat, and M. A. Khan, Biodiversity of the Kashmir Himalaya, Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 2002.
- ^ E. R. Boa, Wild Edible Fungi: a Global Overview of Their Use and Importance to People, Food & Agriculture Org., 2004.
[edit] External links
- chanterelle, in What Am I Eating? A Food Dictionary
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