I have loved mushrooms since childhood, and I have also been a programmer for a long time. Combining these two hobbies, I wrote this website. Previously, I had two other mushroom identification sites, which I sold. Only one of them remains accessible today. My goal with the current site is to create an easy-to-use search and identification platform that works great both in the field and at home. I hope it brings joy to others.
Bartha László
Species flashcards
Practice area: created for the 303-species Hungarian mushroom inspector requirement. It is not an official examination; requirements in other countries may differ.
Yellowfoot
Craterellus lutescens
edible
- Habitat: deciduous coniferous
- Fruiting season: August – November
- Cap: funnel wavy fibrous
- Stem: cylindrical hollow
- Fertile layer: veined decurrent connected
Description
Fruitbody: Differentiated into cap-like and stem-like parts. The cap is 3–7 cm broad, initially depressed and later funnel-shaped, with a wavy and frilled margin. Its surface is in-grown fibrous or slightly scaly, becoming bare with age; matt ochre-brown to dark brown.
Fertile layer: Initially almost smooth, later with shallow, long decurrent veins and wrinkles that may be connected by cross-veins. Yellowish to orange, becoming whitish-pruinose in age.
Stem: 3–9 cm long and 0.5–1.2 cm thick, irregularly cylindrical or slightly compressed and hollow inside. Golden-yellow to orange, often slightly tapering at the base.
Flesh: Thin, soft, fibrous and whitish. The taste is delicate and the smell strong, sweet and reminiscent of mirabelle plum; old specimens become less pleasantly scented.
Spores: Spore print whitish to pale cream; spores 8–12 × 6–8 µm, ovoid to ellipsoid and smooth.
Occurrence: A mycorrhizal species of acidic hill and mountain forests, chiefly in spruce woods but also under beech. Fruits from August to early November.
Edibility: Edible and tasty, though its scattered occurrence gives it limited collecting importance.
Lookalikes: Can resemble winter chanterelle, which usually has a greyer fertile layer and a less brightly yellow stem. The hollow orange stem and strong fragrance are useful distinguishing features.
Note: Craterellus derives from Ancient Greek 'kratḗr', a wine-mixing vessel or deep cup, combined with the Latin diminutive suffix '-ellus', referring to the hollow funnel-shaped cap. Lutescens derives from Latin 'luteus', saffron-yellow or orange, and refers to the bright yellow-orange stem and fertile layer.
Species description: Elias Magnus Fries first described the species in 1821 and transferred it to Craterellus in 1838.
Taxonomy
- PhylumBasidiomycota
- ClassAgaricomycetes
- OrderCantharellales
- FamilyHydnaceae
- GenusCraterellus
- Species: Craterellus lutescens
- Authority: (Fr.) Fr. (1838)
- English name: Yellowfoot
- Ecological status: mycorrhizal
- Edibility: edible
