a few chanterelle questions

[Lorelei Norvell]

On 5 Aug 1995, LauraL6000 wrote:

> FINALLY, the first chanterelles of the season! And a bumper crop at that.
> I have two questions however:
> 
> I'm pretty sure they're chanterelles, based on past knowledge, all my
> guide books etc. However, out of a patch of say, 80, I'd say that 6 or so
> had fused stalks. I know that they're supposed to grow singly (and no, I
> 'm pretty sure they are not jack o' lanterns! - no separate gills, grow on
> the soil, grow separately, scattered about, etc) - so are there
> occasionally exceptions where two grow off the same base?
	Chanterelles are not true agarics but are categorized as members 
of the Aphyllophorales -- which Roy Watling once defined as hymenomycetes 
with "continually expanding margins."  Thus it is not at all unusual to 
find chanterelles attached to one another.  In our Oregon chanterelle 
study we also frequently find caps with ridges emerging out of caps lower 
down.  We have even found 11-headed hydra like fruiting bodies emerging 
from one massive stipe.  This of course completely complicates the 
"counting" of fruiting bodies ... does this equal one, two or 11?  

> 
> Also - do you suppose if I pulled up some of the older ones and say,
> blended them with water and scattered the mixture around there's a chance
> others will grow next year? Or is it better to just crumble them up and
> scatter them?
> 	Paul Stamets suggests placing older fruiting bodies in water 
and sloshing them around to pull off the mature spores and throwing out 
just the water -- since the fruiting bodies may rot and "spoil" the 
attempt.  However chanterelles are mycorrhizal and cannot grow without 
their companion "host" tree .... and it is highly unlikely in any case 
you would have a crop next year.  It appears that it takes at least 15 
years for the mycelium and association to develop before fruiting bodies 
are produced.

> Thanks!!!!!
> 
> 

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