Cantharellus lateritius, commonly known as the Smooth Chanterelle, is a species of fungus in the family Cantharellaceae. This mushroom is distinguished by its yellow to orange colouring and its unusually smooth, almost veinless undersurface, hence the name. Unlike the well-known Cantharellus cibarius, which features prominent ridges or false gills, Cantharellus lateritius often has a nearly featureless underside or shallow folds. It is typically found growing in deciduous forests, where it forms mycorrhizal associations with hardwood trees such as oak and beech. Cantharellus lateritius usually appears in scattered groups or small clusters during the summer and autumn months.

Cap planoconvex to flat when young, with a surface that is dry and slightly tomentose, covered with fine hairs. It becomes shallowly vase-shaped or somewhat funnel-shaped as it matures, with an incurved, wavy and irregular margin that typically curves downward in young specimens. The colour ranges from deep, bright orange-yellow to egg-yolk yellow, often fading to a more yellow tone in older specimens. The margins are usually a paler yellow. The underside runs down the stem and is typically smooth or features shallow wrinkles, though it can occasionally develop more pronounced wrinkles that resemble veins, particularly near the margin. Its colour is similar to that of the cap but usually paler. Flesh White and unchanging when sliced. Stem rather plump and stout, more or less cylindrical, and tapers downwards towards the base, which is sometimes white. Internally, the stems are either stuffed with cotton-like mycelia or solid. Occasionally, fruiting bodies may appear clumped together with stems joined at the base, typically in groups of no more than three. The flesh is solid to partly hollow, sometimes due to insect larvae, and has a pale yellow colour. Spore print pale pinkish yellow.

Microscopic Features: Spores measure 6.5 to 9 by 4 to 5.5 micrometres and are ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid in shape. They have a smooth surface and are inamyloid. In potassium hydroxide, they appear ochraceous. The contents are minutely granular or often contain a single oil droplet.

Cantharellus lateritius on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.

The second photo is by billyd and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.