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Omphalotus species
A vivid orange, wood-clustered mushroom with true knife-edged gills — toxic, and the classic chanterelle confusion.
Vivid orange overall, often deeper than a chanterelle
Thin, sharp, crowded true gills that separate cleanly from the cap
Grows in dense, fused clumps on stumps, buried roots, and the bases of trees
Flesh is orange more or less throughout when cut
Dead and dying hardwood — stumps, logs, buried roots, and tree bases — sometimes appearing to rise from soil over buried wood.
Fruits in clusters from late summer through fall. Very fresh gills can glow faintly in total darkness, but the glow fades after picking and is not a reliable field test.
Golden chanterelles are duller gold, grow alone from soil, and carry blunt forked ridges instead of true gills.
Observe and photograph freely — the clustered growth on wood and the knife-edged gills are the field marks worth recording.
Toxic. Eating it causes severe vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea within about 30 minutes to two hours; it is rarely fatal but can require medical care, and cooking does not make it safe. If ingestion is suspected, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 (US).
A common wood-decay fungus that helps return dead wood to forest soil — part of the nutrient cycle, not a pest.
Sources are linked below. Field marks vary with age, sex, season, region, light, and viewing distance.
Cantharellus species
A prized golden mushroom whose underside carries blunt, forked ridges — false gills — rather than true blades.
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Trametes versicolor
A thin, banded bracket fungus identified with certainty by the fine pore surface on its underside.
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Stereum ostrea
A banded lookalike bracket that gives itself away with a completely smooth, poreless underside.
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