Winter Chanterelle

A number of other mushrooms are superficially similar in appearance (such as also having an umbilicate hole in the center of the cap) but do not match all the key characteristics. The edible and similar-looking Cantharellus minor differs in that it is all-yellow, it lacks the umbilicate hole in the cap, the spore deposit is pale yellowish, and it grows with hardwoods. Two other edible species of Craterellus are referred to as winter chanterelles: The first is Craterellus lutescens, which differs in that it grows with hardwoods, the cap is more yellowish, and the false gills are smaller, vein-like, and whitish to orange instead of grey. The second is Craterellus ignicolor, which differs in that it grows with hardwoods, the cap is more orangy and becomes more deeply vase-shaped in maturity, and the false gills are often more pinkish in maturity.