Estimated value
Not a sellable food species.
Never sell. Classic chanterelle poisoner. Causes brutal vomiting. Sometimes faintly glows.
poisonous · toxic
Jack-o'-Lantern
Omphalotus olivascens / O. illudens
Also called False chanterelle (deadly cousin)
Field marks
- Spore print
- Cream to yellow
- Smell
- Unpleasant or neutral, not fruity
- Trees / hosts
- Oak, other hardwoods
- Elevation
- Low.
Description
Bright orange gilled mushroom in dense clusters on wood or buried roots. True sharp gills, not blunt ridges. No apricot smell. Western O. olivascens can look olive-orange.
Where it grows
Wood, stumps, buried roots — especially oak.
How to find it
Learn it at the base of oaks and in landscaping. Clusters, not scattered singles in moss.
How to pick
Do not eat. Use as a teaching specimen.
Medicinal notes
None. Illudin toxins.
Psychoactive / controlled
None.
Law
Not food.
Lookalikes
- Chanterelle
Chanterelles grow from soil, have blunt ridges and apricot smell.
Field ID ticket
Tick every required mark in the woods. 0/3 required. This still is not laboratory certainty.
Do not eat or sell this specimen. Missing required marks.