Chanterelle
Golden, trumpet-shaped, faintly apricot. The crown jewel of the hunt.
Know it
Chanterelles are golden to egg-yolk yellow, shaped like a trumpet with wavy, forked ridges — not true gills — running down the stem. They smell faintly of apricots, which no lookalike does.
Where & when
host oak, beech, birch (mycorrhizal) season summer into autumn range northern temperate forests spore pale cream to yellowish
Why they're prized
Chanterelles resist worms, hold their shape, and taste peppery and nutty. Once you find one patch, you'll find it again — they return to the same ground for decades.