Which Chanterelle Is That? Interpreting the Latest North American Chanterelle Research with Rachel Swenie

Chanterelles (genus Cantharellus) are prized edible mushrooms found in forests across the globe. Recent DNA-based research on chanterelles has resulted in many new species described from North America -- but chanterelle species can be very difficult to tell apart in the field. In this presentation, 2021 NAMA Memorial Scholarship Recipient Rachel Swenie will give an overview of which chanterelle species occur where and how to identify them reliably. She will discuss recent results showing how the divide between North American and European chanterelles is muddier than previously thought.

Rachel Swenie is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and recipient of the 2021 NAMA Memorial Scholarship. Her research focuses on species diversity and trait evolution among the chanterelle mushrooms and relatives. Rachel is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and a passionate field mycologist who has worked extensively in the southern Appalachian mountains as well as Patagonia. Rachel has led guided fungi hikes for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Tennessee Valley Wild Ones. She has given talks on mushrooms to several mycology clubs, including two presentations at MO-NAMA 2022, and is a Scientific Advisor to the Cumberland Mycological Society. Find her on iNaturalist @rachel_swenie, where she enjoys identifying fungi.