Red, White, and Golden Chanterelles of the US: Identification Guide

Not that long ago, less than 20 years ago, if you called a yellow chanterelle Cantharellus cibarius, everyone would nod their head in agreement. Usually, the golden chanterelle in question looked similar enough that no one gave it much thought.

However, this easy identification process got unceremoniously tossed out the door due to recent DNA analysis. First of all, Cantharellus cibarius is only a European species. So, if you are foraging chanterelles in North America, strike that species’ name from your mind. Many identification guides aren’t updated, so be warned, you’ll likely still encounter this name. But, it’s not accurate anymore (Thank you science, we think…).

In addition to the “common” golden chanterelle in the US no longer having its long-used name, DNA analysis split out the golden chanterelles into many different species. So, there isn’t just one name to replace the common name we’ve been using. Talk about confusing! And, it is likely there will be more changes as more research is done.

If you’re new to foraging chanterelle mushrooms, you should start with the essential Chanterelle Foraging Guide. This guide discusses false gills, how to pick out the specific characteristics of chanterelles to make a positive identification, as well as detailed information about foraging and dangerous lookalikes.

Jump to:

Chanterelle Science and Why It’s Important?
The North American Chanterelle Species: Overview
Golden/Yellow Chanterelles
White Chanterelle
Red Chanterelles
Chanterelle Mushroom Common Questions

Chanterelle Science and Why It’s Important?

Science needs your help! When you collect golden Cantharellus cibarius-like chanterelles, take a moment to do a little documentation. This is the only way we will have any resolution to the great Chanterelle conundrum. We’re the ones out in the woods, at ground level, foraging all these stunning mushrooms and getting first-hand knowledge about how and where they’re growing.

smooth golden chanterelle — Smooth golden chanterelle — no false gills~

Six Steps To Better Chanterelle Mycology

Take a spore print. So far, colors recorded for cibarius-like chanterelles include white, cream (off-white), pinkish, yellow, and salmon pink.
Document the color of the false gills
The trees within toppling range. These are the trees in the area that would land on top of the mushroom if they were to fall over.
Documentation — write down the basic morphology and take pictures – size, shape, coloring.
Compare your chanterelle find against the list of known species in this guide.
List your find in Inaturalist or Mushroom Observer for others to see – mycologists regularly use these citizen science platforms to instigate or follow up on their studies.
BONUS: Record reaction to Iron Salts

arrangement of chanterelles — From button to full grown, golden chanterelle heaven

Many foragers who’ve been collecting golden chanterelles for decades may wonder why it’s even important to know the specific species. After all, the mushrooms being collected are obviously chanterelles, and they’re edible, so what else matters.

In some ways, this is true. If you’ve been collecting golden chanties for years, it does seem a little pointless to pay attention to particulars now. But unfortunately, that way of thinking is very in-the-moment and can lead to unexpected consequences.

chanterelle buttons — little button chanties

chanterelles on log — little button chanties

As our world changes, natural forested land where chanterelles grow is diminished. Chanterelles are mycorrhizal, which means they grow in association with different trees. And the tree type varies across species.

When we document the mushroom, we also document the tree or potential tree species. Since this relationship between chanterelle and tree is usually quite specific, ensuring the continuing fruiting of chanterelles also involves protecting the tree species.

The mushroom world is a small one compared to the logging/building/land development world, so any information we glean that may protect a species of mushroom is seriously essential. It might not be necessary now, but it could be in the near future.

The more we understand about the specific species, the more we can protect them. Possibly, in the future, this additional information will help us figure out how to grow them, too. For now, though, if we aren’t paying attention to and recording the tree associations, time of year, size, and habitat, we might unintentionally destroy all their habitat and never see them again.

The North American Chanterelle Species: Overview

There are 40 or more chanterelle types in North America. This list doesn’t detail them all but gives as much of a thorough run-down as is possible by the citizen mycologist. I’ve broken the species down into sections based on basic coloring: golden/yellow, white, and red. This is a rough separation and by no means regulated. However, from a foraging perspective, it helps a lot.

This guide doesn’t go into all the specifics of false gills or the characteristics necessary to identify chanterelles successfully. If you’re interested in a more basic guide, check out the Chanterelle Foraging Guide, which includes identification information, lookalikes, seasonality, and habitat information.

white chanterelle — Golden Yellow Chanterelle

Golden Chanterelles are identified as those that resemble the Cantharellus cibarius species we’ve been incorrectly using for decades, as well as those yellow types that are significantly different from the classic golden.
White Chanterelles are those that are pale or white
Red Chanterelles include red, pink, and orangy types that are the outliers of the classic golden chanterelle world.

Golden/Yellow Chanterelles

Cantharellus altipes (Cantharellus septentrionalis)

Region: Texas, Michigan, Midwest
Season: Summer through fall
Habitat: Oak and pine woods, sandy soil
Size: Small compared to other golden chanterelles
Shape: Stem often longer than the cap is wide.
Color: Golden yellow
False Gills: golden yellow
Spore Print: Cream
Notes: C. altipes species named in 2011. C. septentrioinalis name from 1968. They may be the same species. Also may be the same as C.cibarius var. longipes. Not enough research or specimens were collected to say for sure.

Cantharellus appalachiensis

Region: East of the Great Plains
Season: Summer
Habitat: Oaks, hardwoods
Size: Cap .5-2.5 inches across, Stem .75-2.5 inches long
Color: Brownish cap with yellow undertones, brown/cream stem
False Gills: Yellow
Spore Print: White/Cream
Notes: Flesh is whitish or yellowish and doesn’t change color. They are distinguishable from other golden chanterelles by their brown shading.

Cantharellus californicus

Region: California
Season: Fall through winter
Habitat: California live oak, possibly other oaks
Size: Cap 5-8 inches across, Stem 1-3 inches long, and stocky
Color: Golden egg-yolk yellow
False Gills: Golden or light yellow
Spore Print: Yellowish
Notes: It is popularly called the “mud puppy” because of its habit of pushing through muddy debris after heavy rains. Previously thought to be C. cibarius; received its true name is 2008.

Cantharellus cascadensis (Cascade chanterelle)

Region: Pacific Northwest
Season: Summer through early winter
Habitat: Douglas fir, conifer forests
Size: Cap 1.5-4.75 inches across, Stem .75-4 inches long and stocky
Color: Golden orange, yellow
False Gills: Pale yellow to cream
Spore Print: White/Cream
Notes: Overall stocky (chonky) appearance

Cantharellus confluens

Region: Southeastern United States
Season: Summer
Habitat: Hardwoods
Size: Cap 2-3 inches across, Stem up to 2 inches long
Color: Golden yellow
False Gills: Golden or pale yellow
Spore Print: Pale yellow
Notes: The false gills are almost nonexistent. The underside is mostly smooth or slightly wrinkled. This species also grows in dense clumps – one stem produces multiple cap-like growths that overlap. The overall growth is overlapping, wavy, irregular, and smooth.

Cantharellus enelensis

Region: Midwest, Canada, possibly more widespread
Season: Summer through fall
Habitat: Conifer forests
Size: Cap 1-4.25 inches diameter
Color: Yellow-brown
False Gills: Orange to yellow
Spore Print:
Notes: Stem is thick and long. Difficult to tell apart from other golden chanterelles without DNA analysis. Documented and named in 2016.

Cantharellus flavus

Region: Midwest, Texas, exact distribution unknown
Season: Summer through fall
Habitat: Hardwood, especially oaks or mixed forests
Size:
Color: Golden yellow
False Gills: Yellow
Spore Print: Bright yellow
Notes: Documented and named in 2013.

Cantharellus formosus (Pacific Golden Chanterelle)

Region: Pacific Northwest, California
Season: Summer through Winter
Habitat: Conifers, especially Douglas fir and western hemlock
Size: Cap .75-5.5 inches wide, Stem 1.5-2.25 inches long
Color: Orange-yellow, sometimes rosy
False Gills: Orange or yellow with a pinkish hue (salmon) or buff
Spore Print: Creamy yellow
Notes: Most common in Washington and Oregon; it is Oregon’s state mushroom

Cantharellus lateritius (Smooth Chanterelle)

Region: Eastern North America
Season: Summer
Habitat: Oaks primarily, sometimes hickories
Size: Cap .75-3.5 inches in diameter, Stem .5-1.8 inches tall
Color: Golden yellow-orange
False Gills: Almost nonexistent, smooth surface or slightly wrinkled
Spore Print: Light yellow-orange, pinkish yellow
Notes: False gills are not defined, giving a more smooth appearance than a typical chanterelle. They look more like wrinkles than false gills. Cap bruises orangish-brown at the edges.

Cantharellus minor

Region: East of the Rocky Mountains
Season: Late spring through fall
Habitat: Oaks and other hardwoods
Size: Cap .2-1.2 inches wide, Stem less than 1.6 inches long
Color: Orange-yellow
False Gills: Same orange-yellow as the cap or a little paler
Spore Print: Pale yellow
Notes: The smallest of the golden chanterelles. It looks very similar to yellowfoot but without the hollow tubular center. Small cap and long slender stem, well-defined gills.

Cantharellus roseocanus

Region: Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, and westward
Season: Summer through fall
Habitat: Spruces and pines, specifically Sitka spruce, Bishop pine, lodgepole pine, and jack pine
Size: Cap 1-4 inches across, Stem .75-2 inches long
Color: Pale yellow or orange, fades to whitish with sunlight
False Gills: Very bright orange, especially in comparison to the cap
Spore Print: Pale yellow-orange
Notes: A stocky chanterelle with remarkable coloring. Cap often takes on a pinkish hue or “bloom.” Named as a distinct species in 2012.

Cantharellus roeocanus by Ruzica and Sava Krstic at Mushroom Observer

White Chanterelle

Cantharellus subalbidus (the White Chanterelle)

Region: Pacific Northwest, California
Season: Fall and winter
Habitat: Conifers, especially Douglas fir
Size: Cap 2-6 inches wide, Stem .75-2.75 inches long
Color: White/Cream, but ages to yellowish
False Gills: White
Spore Print: White
Notes: It looks just like a golden chanterelle except ghostly white. Bruises yellow-orange.

Red Chanterelles

Cantharellus cinnabarinus

Region: Eastern North America
Season: Summer through fall
Habitat: Beech, oaks, sometimes shagbark hickory, and big-toothed aspen
Size: Cap .25-1.50 inches across, Stem .25-1.5 inches long
Color: Flamingo pink, bright orange, red
False Gills: Same color as the cap or a little bit lighter
Spore Print: White or faintly pink
Notes: Very small chanterelle with unmistakable coloring

Cantharellus coccolobae

Region: Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida
Season: Late summer into early fall
Habitat: Grows in association with sea grapes
Size: Cap .5-1.0 inch across, Stem .25-.75 inches long
Color: Pinkish orange, deep pink, salmon red
False Gills: Same color as the cap or a little lighter
Spore Print:
Notes: A very small bright pink-red chanterelle found in sandy areas along the coast.

Cantharellus persicinus

Region: Appalachian Mountains
Season: Summer through fall
Habitat: Oaks or eastern hemlocks
Size: Cap .75-2 inches wide, Stem .75-2 inches long
Color: Salmon-orange or pinkish-orange or peachy
False Gills: Same color as the cap or a bit lighter
Spore Print: Pinkish or cream
Notes: Cap edges and stem bruise yellowish. Uncommon and seems limited to Appalachian Mtns.

Cantharellus texensis

Exactly like Cantharellus cinnabarinus except found in Texas and the Gulf States. Exact distribution is unknown. Grows with pine and oak in sandy soil.

Chanterelle Mushroom Common Questions

Wait, what about the blue chanterelle?

Blue chanterelles aren’t actually a chanterelle species, though they are distantly related. They look similar, which is how they get their common name. The blue chanterelle is edible but is rather uncommon and rare of a find.

Are all chanterelles edible?

Yes, all chanterelles are edible. And they’re one of the best-tasting wild edible mushrooms out there. You have to be very careful about identification, though, as there are some lookalikes that people often get confused about. And one of the lookalikes is quite toxic. To learn more about proper identification and lookalikes, study the Chanterelle Foraging Guide.

What do chanterelles smell like?

Most chanterelles have a very distinctive fruity smell. Most people liken it to apricots, sweet almonds, or a fruity sweet scent.

Can I grow chanterelles?

We wish! Due to their mycorrhizal association with specific tree species, chanterelles have so far eluded determined growers. This isn’t to say it isn’t possible, just that it hasn’t been figured out yet.

When do chanterelles grow?

Chanterelles adore a hot sauna. Start looking after long drenching rains followed by hot, humid days. This weather isn’t much fun for the forager, but for chanterelles, well, it’s worth it! It generally takes a few days after the rains for chanterelles to fruit.