Neil1 said:
I have just put a picture up in my gallery of chantrelles that were picked today on a great wander up into a superb little woodland. Leon1 and Moonraker and I met up this morning and spent the day just foraging around, it was great just to get out with such great company.
The weather was great (but unbelievably mild for the end of October) and nature seems all a bit confused, some plants shedding leaves and others starting second growths.
Anyway the chantrelles were great and ended up in a nice carbonara this evening.
Neil
A great day indeed, in beautiful woodland and so much to hunt out and share notes on. The chanterelle just topped it all of, scattered on the leaf strewn floor like a pirates treasure of fat, golden doubloons. They really 'glowed' and were the most wonderful, deep egg-yolk colour. All the more impressive as they shone out in the gathering dusk.
I hope Neil doesn't mind if I post the photo here too. Any photo can't really capture their true colour but it does show how useful a hat can be, as Neil's came in really handy to gather the harvest
Like most chanterelle, if you find one there are often lots more hidden away close by.
Just to clarify Nightwalker, Neil used the title 'magic' to describe the magical discovery of such a lovely horde of fungi, rather than any mind altering property
Yes, there are reports that the
False Chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) can cause hallucinations and sickness in some reported cases. Roger Phillips states;
Not edible as it is known to cause alarming symptoms (hallucination) in some cases
source:
http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~6133.asp.
However the False Chanterelle is from a different family of fungi to that of the 'true'
Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) and does not share the same properties and is considered one of the top edibles. I would agree
Though, like Toddy, I have eaten the False Chanterelle, quite recently, and no-one reported any similar experiences. It probably highlights the way in which the effect of certain chemicals in fungi can affect some people but not others, beyond any allergic reaction and one of the reasons why, when eating wild plants, you need to eat them in small quantities first off to see how you may react. This could be because of individual tolerance (or lack of) to specimens, allergy or the numerous variables in concentration of chemicals in a non-manufactured food. And the advice on the edibility of certain fungi does change over time and even from book to book.
And the common name, correctly
Chanterelle, comes directly from the French name for the fungus (also commonly called 'Girolle' in some regions), which itself comes from the Latin
cantharus meaning 'cup', or goblet in French and refers to the shape of the mushroom. In the case of the chanterelle more like a golden 'grail'
It was also absorbing to see Leon at work with his tracking skills. I just had to watch in awe as he skilfully analysed each scarce print on a muddy puddle and explained just how each had been made and by which animal. Really fascinating.
Thanks for a truly memorable days guys :You_Rock_
Thats the second one I've missed. 
