New Chanterelle Species Named Cantharellus coccolobae

[ladyflyfsh]

I finally have a name for my "pink flamingo" chanterelles I have now found in South Florida twice now. I sent specimens to Bart Buyck in Paris and he already knew of this species from the Yucatan in Mexico and from Guadeloupe as well as Cayman Islands. It is a tropical mushroom and has a strict association with Coccoloba species trees. I have found it under both Coccoloba uvifera (sea grapes) and Coccoloba diversifolia (pigeon plum). 

It is a subspecies of C. cinnabarinus and is both edible and delicious. The published paper is now out and my photos were published in the paper as well as my two locations where I found it. Bart Buyck was going to call it something different until he got my specimens and found out that Coccoloba grew in Florida. Once he knew that, he changed the name to Cantharellus coccolobae. It's very exciting to have found a newly described mushroom species. It happens every day, so keep your eyes out and if you see something really unusual, document it! You can read the published paper directly linked under the photos here in this post.

 

391_403_Buyck_light.pdf

[Old Oak]

Very cool!

[John Smalldridge]

Congratulations! That is what I love about mycology, even the amateur can contribute to the finding of new species.

[Tasso]

Great work Mary!! Really beautiful photos as well. Congrats.

[ladyflyfsh]

Thanks, guys. I was so happy to finally, after over two years, have a name for these beauties. It was just icing on the cake to be at the right time to be able to contribute to Bart Buyck's paper he was about to publish. He had no idea that Coccolobo trees grew in Florida so was both surprised and pleased to be able to add another new chanterelle species to the count for the US and North America. I think we are now up to 29 named and described species in North America. Can you believe it?

[rob]

Congrats, great find and kudos to sticking with it to find out an unknown i.d.

[Dave W]

I saw your post on Mushroom Observer. Great find! As usual, your photos are excellent. We'll be seeing them in field guides, I imagine. 

[ladyflyfsh]

Well, maybe southern field guides. 

[Evan]

Very cool, Mary!! Congrats!

[CWlake]

beautiful mushrooms and exciting story. Thanks

[UGA Shroomer]

I found a few of these here in Athens Georgia. They were growing between a patch of pink chanties and golden chanties. I knew they had to be a hybrid. They were peach colored and looked like a perfect combo of the two. Pics are on my old phone. I'll try to get them transferred to this one so I can send them. They were delicious. 

Just wanted to add that the ones I found were on the side of a ditch growing out of moss. The only trees around were live oaks and beech. Definitely the same exact mushrooms though. 

[ladyflyfsh]

UGA Shroomer, these are specifically associated with Coccoloba tree species. What you found were most likely C. persicinus found in the Southeast. 

 

[F.HERMAN]

The first time i heard about this mushrom was in martinique in 1987. My friends called it " girolles" or "chanterelles bord de mer" . Because it was very close to our trench chanterelle...After a barth in the caribean sea we went under the cocolabae trees to catch the chanterelles....we cooked it for dîner. Delicious.  Today i went back at the same place...They still was there...

[GCn15]

Very nice. Beautiful mushrooms.

[Evan]

That's awesome, Mary!!

[dri]

Hello! Thank you for your post!! I never thought I would try chanterelles living in S. Florida, what a nice surprise when I read it! I need help confirming if I have found them. I did find them under sea-grapes. I have read a couple of books and researched online, so I believe they are it, but would love if you could help me. Thank you!!

 

[ladyflyfsh]

Yes, that is definitely what you have there. They grow in huge clusters and are delicious. Congratulations.

[Gutherman]

I live on the east coast of Florida and I found some last year around August-October. This year I went to the same spot and they’re back!! I’m super excited to cook with them later, I was thinking about making a Rizzuto with them. 
I have a bunch of photos I took of them too. 
 

 

[TDS]

Wow

we are so excited. I have had a large variety of mushroom growing in ATL and recently moved to Dunedin Fl. Discovered cayman Chanterelles in Little Cayman growing crazy wild under coconut tees and sees grapes everywhere . Need more assurances before eating, our versions are very small, yhinoknkg about tenting them

[flolina]

I have some questions! I'm so excited to have found this thread

Do we know of any dangerous similar looking mushrooms in this florida climate?

Would you say they grow in the fall in this climate or summer?

[ladyflyfsh]

They are definitely a summer mushroom with plenty of heat and humidity. No look alike in this habitat. 

[ZUnit]

Are there any machines you can buy to figure stuff out without having to send it in? I hope the technology gets cheaper so I can just start running mushrooms through a spectrometer or whatever at home.