Trumpet Chanterelle

Cantharellus tubaeformis

Distinguishing characteristics: 
As its name suggests, the Trumpet Chanterelle is shaped like a funnel or horn. It is a rather small mushroom. Its cap is brown with a yellowish or grey hue. Its stem is hollow, rather slim, and has a yellow colour. It has long, gill-like, decurrent ridges of a yellowish grey on the undersurface of the cap.

Look-alikes:
The “Wetland Chanterelle” (C. aureum) closely resembles the Trumpet Chanterelle, but the ridges on the undersurface of its cap are not as pronounced. C. aureum is found in more thickly vegetated and moist environments than the Trumpet Chanterelle. It, too, is an excellent mushroom for consumption.

Habitat:
Trumpet Chanterelles are common in southern and central Finland. They occur in mossy woods, often in spruce stands but also in mixed forests. They usually grow in large groups in the same places year after year. Initially it may be difficult for mushroom hunters to find them because they are covered in deep moss. In good years for Trumpet Chanterelles, they are clearly more abundant than their close cousin, the Golden Chanterelle.

Harvest season:
Trumpet Chanterelles grow rather late in the autumn, from September to November.

Use:
Their thin flesh makes Trumpet Chanterelles suitable for drying or freezing. Drying is easy to do at home. The nutritional value of the mushrooms is well-preserved by freezing, but the taste may be watered down. They can also be fried as they are, of course, as well as frozen or pickled. Trumpet Chanterelles are rich in vitamin D. Eating them in the winter is a natural way to increase one’s vitamin D intake.