I live in the Forest (specifically Great Basin Conifer Woodland) in beautiful Prescott Arizona (in fact, the exact spot where pictured below). Chanterelle (Cantharellus Cibarius) is my favorite tasty neighbor, although I’m not totally sure they are native to this area. Outside the White Mountain areas, my property and my immediate neighbors yards (that I’ll bet they wish I’d stay out of) are some of the few places I see them. It makes sense that assorted fungi would like our yards as we are at the bottom of a good incline that shields the backyard from sun, the whole area is artificially fertilized and watered, and we have a lot of trees on our collective property. Like any Fungi it has adapted to be very good at sucking up nutrients from the niche it serves, and it has the capability to totally die off to dried spores waiting for another rainy season to ensure its survival. Another funny feature is its similarity to its (non-lethal) disgusting cousin the False Chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis Aurantiaca). False Chanterelle is usually found around the same area and looks quite similar to the tasty Golden Chanterelle I mentioned earlier. I can assure you, (while this kind of humor is best left to people that have a good knowledge of fungus for safety sake) this has resulted in more than one joke on the less knowledgeable nerds out there.
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| Awesome. Just remember, they are very vibrant orange/yellow. The pale orange/yellow ones are evil imposters. |
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| I am here. |
At the Encyclopedia of Life (should be on everyone's diigo or bookmarked) we find this entry. It is likely native to your area. Lucky you :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://eol.org/pages/6666298/overview