Turbinellus floccosus

A chanterelle that is not a chanterelle

Turbinellus floccosus is a vase-shaped, ectomycorrhizal fungus, meaning it lives in partnership with tree roots. It is called scaly chanterelle or woolly chanterelle in English, and the catalogue notes that it is not a true chanterelle. Its previous name, Gomphus floccosus, still appears in many sources, so a record under either name may refer to the same fungus.

The catalogue records the ecology as ectomycorrhizal and the supply as wild. Other common names in the catalogue do not all refer to this species, so the scientific name is the reliable key.

Where it is recorded

The catalogue places the food tradition in Pu'er markets in Yunnan, China, and gives the wider range as the Himalayas and other temperate regions. One source lists the species as recorded from Japan, North Korea, China, Tibet, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Yunnan is not named in that source, so the Yunnan market record is not confirmed by the range list.

The Yunnan food-market record comes from a supplied study cited in the catalogue. The full text could not be read during this work, so the details of the market, its season and its prices are not recorded here.

Edibility is in dispute

The sources disagree on edibility. Several guides advise against eating the scaly chanterelles of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, because they cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea in some people. Another describes the species as non-edible but not lethal. A Wikipedia mirror lists it as poisonous, and a source on the North American form says it is not an edible except for the very bold.

The catalogue flags the record as a safety conflict for research only. It notes conflicting reports of gastrointestinal poisoning. No specific poisoning case or outbreak is cited in the sources reviewed, including any from Yunnan.

Taxonomy and the populations that differ

DNA data suggest that the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia population differs from the material called Turbinellus floccosus in central Mexico and India. The Mexican and Indian material is treated as a good edible. Asian and Yunnan collections may therefore not match the North American toxicity reports, and they may not match the Mexican or Indian material either.

One source attributes gastrointestinal distress to norcaperatic acid in the fungus. That is a single claim, and the sources reviewed do not give its concentration or test its effect.

Safety

Do not eat this fungus on the basis of this page. The catalogue records a safety conflict and asks for research only. Chanterelle-like fungi are easy to confuse, and the sources disagree about whether the species is edible at all. A specialist review with vouchers from the Yunnan market, and a comparison with the North American and Mexican material, is the next research step.