Assessment Notes

Justification

This species is listed as Least Concern (LC) because of its wide distribution and estimated large global population. It is a popular edible mushroom that is being harvested for commercial purposes in quite a large scale, and is one of the most commonly collected for personal use. However, the global population does not seem to be in decline at a rate fulfilling the conditions for being Red Listed in a higher category. It can grow with multiple different host tree species and is not restricted to old growth forests.

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Taxonomic notes

From at least 30 names referring to this species (sensu stricto) in Europe, Olariaga et al. (2016) have reduced this to eight species from phylogenetic analyses of the ITS2, LSU, RPB2 and TEF-1 regions.

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Geographic range

This is a very widespread species of Europe, and into the Caucasus region. There are large numbers of records of this species outside of Europe, but there has been a lot of misidentification, and more recent work has described multiple species across its range that were formerly referred to as Cantharellus cibarius (e.g. C. formosus Corner 1966, I. Olariaga Ibarguren pers. comm. 2022). Therefore, records from outside of the above range are not included in this assessment (G. Mueller and A. Vasco-Palacios pers. comm. 2024).

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Population and Trends

This is a widespread and common species, and as such the population size is in at least the tens of thousands of mature individuals. In some European countries, e.g. the Netherlands, historical data shows a decline related to nitrogen deposition. While this might be abating in areas in which deposition levels are reducing, nonetheless there are substantial localities where deposition levels remain high (Arnolds and Veerkamp 2008, W. Ozinga pers. comm. 2017). Hence, though tentative, we consider this to be a declining species. The overall global trend, though, is not expected to meet the thresholds for consideration as threatened globally.

Population Trend: Decreasing

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Habitat and Ecology

This is a widespread species of European woodlands. It can grow with multiple different host tree species and is not restricted to old growth forests.

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Threats

In some European countries, e.g. the Netherlands, historical data shows a decline related to nitrogen deposition. While this might be abating in areas in which deposition levels are reducing, nonetheless there are substantial localities where deposition levels remain high (Arnolds and Veerkamp 2008, W. Ozinga pers. comm. 2017).

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Conservation Actions

At some sites further information is needed to understand if the decline in fruit bodies for this group applies sensu stricto or sensu lato (van Strien et al. 2017, Wim A. Ozinga pers. comm. 2017). However, as its global status appears secure at this time, no specific conservation actions are thought to be necessary.

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Use and Trade

This is a widely consumed and traded mushroom that is a prized edible species. It is being harvested for commercial purposes at quite a large scale, and is one of the most commonly collected for personal use.

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Source and Citation

Dahlberg, A. 2025. Cantharellus cibarius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T122090373A122090888. Accessed on 20 November 2025.

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• Country occurrence