Terracotta hedgehog or Chanterelle

The cap is 2 to 6 cm across, sometimes larger, convex then flatter, often irregular, lobed or wavy at the edge and lumpy, without a deep funnel. It often sits slightly off-centre on the stem.

The surface is dry and finely felty or velvety. It's orange-red, terracotta or brownish orange, paler towards the edge, and fades with age.

The cap is 3–10 cm across. Young caps are convex with an inrolled margin; with age they flatten out and become distinctly funnel-shaped, the margin turning up and going wavy.

It's bright yellow-orange or egg-yolk yellow, sometimes paler — from light ochre to almost white in shady spots. The surface is smooth and dry, faintly velvety, like apricot skin. In mature mushrooms the cap often flows into the stem with no clear transition, as if the whole thing were carved from one piece of ochre wax.

Instead of gills there are crowded, soft spines 2 to 5 mm long that hang like stalactites, whitish, pink or peachy, and brush off easily. They stop at the top of the stem and don't run down it.

The spore print is white.

The underside is the chanterelle's key identifying feature. Instead of gills or tubes, it has forked ridges (false gills) that run a long way down the stem. They're the same colour as the cap: an even yellow-orange or egg-yolk yellow.

The ridges are thick, widely spaced and linked by cross-veins, so together they look like a three-dimensional net. They don't change colour when pressed. This is what makes the true chanterelle easy to tell from the false chanterelle, which has regular, thin gills.

The stem is 2 to 6 cm tall and usually 0.5 to 1.5 cm thick, solid, whitish or pinkish white, bruising orange-brown when touched or pressed, and often pointed at the base.

The stem is short and sturdy: 3–7 cm tall and 1–3 cm thick. It's cylindrical, often tapering toward the base, and often flattened, bent or slightly off-centre. The surface is smooth and dry, the same yellow-orange as the cap or a little lighter.

There's no ring and no volva — chanterelles belong to a family with no veils. The stem feels springy, dense and solid, with no hollows. Several mushrooms often grow from one shared base.

The flesh is firm, whitish with pink or salmon tones.

The flesh is dense, cream or pale yellow when fresh. Cut or bruised, it barely changes colour, only yellowing slightly over time. That's an important clue: a true chanterelle doesn't turn blue or red.

Fresh flesh tastes mild, with a light peppery bite that's strongest in the cap. Older mushrooms get a bit tough and fibrous but keep their aroma.

The smell is indistinct.

Fresh chanterelles have one of the most distinctive smells of any edible mushroom: warm, fruity and apricot-like, with clear notes of dried fruit and a faint hint of pepper. Some people pick up dried apricots or sun-dried cherries in it.

Cut one open and the aroma gets deeper and richer. Dried chanterelles keep a light fruity note but lose their freshness, which is why they're rarely dried and more often pickled or frozen fresh.