Red false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis rufa)
- Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Boletales (Boletales)
- Family: Hygrophoropsidaceae (Hygrophoropsis)
- Genus: Hygrophoropsis (Hygrophoropsis)
- Type: Hygrophoropsis rufa (False red fox)
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This species was first described in 1972 as a species of false fox Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca. It was raised to the status of an independent species in 2008, and in 2013 the legitimacy of this increase was confirmed at the genetic level.
Cap up to 10 cm in diameter, orange-yellow, yellowish-orange, brownish-orange or brown, with small brown scales that densely cover the surface of the cap in the center and gradually fade to nothing towards the edges. The edge of the cap is folded inwards. The leg is the same color as the cap, and is also covered with small brown scales, slightly expanded at the base. The plates are yellow-orange or orange, bifurcating and descending along the stem. The flesh is orange, does not change color in the air. The smell is described as both inoffensive and ozone-like, reminiscent of the smell of a working laser printer. The taste is inexpressive.
It lives in mixed and coniferous forests on all kinds of woody residues, from rotten stumps to chips and sawdust. Possibly widespread in Europe – but there is not enough information yet. (Author’s note: since this species grows in the same places as the false chanterelle, I can say that I personally came across it much less often)
Spores are elliptical, thick-walled, 5–7 × 3–4 μm, dextrinoid (stain red-brown with Meltzer’s reagent).
The structure of the skin of the cap resembles hair cut with a “hedgehog”. Hyphae in the outer layer are located almost parallel to each other and perpendicular to the surface of the cap, and these hyphae are of three types: thick, with thick walls and colorless; filiform; and with golden brown granular content.
Like the false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca), the mushroom is considered conditionally edible, with low nutritional qualities.
The false chanterelle Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca is distinguished by the absence of brown scales on the cap; thin-walled spores 6.4–8.0 × 4.0–5.2 µm in size; and the skin of the cap, formed by hyphae, which are parallel to its surface.