Hygrophoropsis

Hygrophoropsis is a genus of gilled fungi in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It was circumscribed in 1888 to contain the type species, H. aurantiaca, a widespread fungus that, based on its appearance, has been affiliated with Cantharellus, Clitocybe, and Paxillus. Modern molecular phylogenetic analysis shows that the genus belongs to the suborder Coniophorineae of the order Boletales.

There are 16 accepted species of Hygrophoropsis, found in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Hygrophoropsis is a saprophytic genus that causes brown rot in the wood it colonises. The fruit bodies grow on the ground in woodlands, on moss, peat, and on woodchips. They are convex to infundibuliform (funnel-shaped) and have decurrent, forked brightly colored gills. The spores are dextrinoid, meaning that they stain reddish-brown in Melzer's reagent. Because H. aurantiaca has orange gills, it has been mistaken for a chanterelle, and hence it has been called a false chanterelle.