Assessment Notes

Justification

Originally described from the Himalayan region of northern India, there has since been a taxonomic rearrangement with other taxa from the same region being lumped into Cantharellus applanatus. The lumping of C. anzutake as a synonym of C. applanatus also means that the species is widespread in Japan, and also occurs in the Republic of Korea. Therefore, it is likely to be extremely widespread in temperate parts of southern to eastern Asia. It occurs with multiple potential ectomycorrhizal hosts and so shows adaptability and potentially does not face any threats that may imminently impact its extinction risk. As such, C. applanatus is tentatively assessed as Least Concern.

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Taxonomic notes

Genetic sequencing suggests that Cantharellus himalayensis, C. natarjanii and C. anzutake are synonyms of this (see Wang et al. 2023, I. Olariaga Ibarguren pers. comm. 2022).

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Geographic range

Based on the the taxonomic position of Wang et al. (2023) this species has been collected from various localities in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in the north of India (in Deepika et al. 2013 as Cantharellus applanatus, C. himalayensis and C. natarjanii). The inclusion of C. anzutake as a synonym expands the distribution of the species greatly to also include Japan and the Republic of Korea (Ogawa et al. 2018, Buyck et al. 2020).

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Population and Trends

The current populations trends of this species are uncertain, given a deficiency in recent information regarding its distribution and any potential threats which may be affecting this species.

Population Trend: Unknown

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Habitat and Ecology

This is an ectomycorrhizal species that appears to grow in association with a wide range of potential host tree species (see Deepika et al. 2013, Ogawa et al. 2018), at elevations from sea level in Japan (Ogawa et al. 2018) to 1,950 in India (Deepika et al. 2013).

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Threats

Further information to ascertain the full distribution of the species is required before an accurate assessment of the threats it faces can be made. However, with a wide range of potential host tree species it is presumably adaptable and it is plausible that this species does not face any significant threats.

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Conservation Actions

Further research into this species’ current wild distribution, habitat preferences, and potential threats is therefore also required in order to accurately assess this species. Further taxonomic work may also be required.

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Use and Trade

This is an edible species and there has been some success at ex situ cultivation (see Ogawa et al. 2019, Yamada 2022).

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Source and Citation

Westrip, J.R.S. & Liddle, T.A. 2025. Cantharellus applanatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T189310500A270327664. Accessed on 22 November 2025.

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• Country occurrence