Cantharellus mushrooms

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Cantharellus mushrooms

Cantharellus is a genus of popular edible mushrooms, commonly known as chanterelles. They are mycorrhizal fungi, meaning they form symbiotic associations with plants, making them very difficult to cultivate. Caution must be used when identifying chanterelles for consumption due to lookalikes, such as the Jack-O-Lantern species (Omphalotus olearius and others), which can make a person very ill. Despite this, chanterelles are one of the most recognized and harvested groups of edible mushrooms.
The best known species is C. cibarius. Cantharellus species are found throughout the world in association with mycorrhizal host plants, including Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and Australia.