Assessment Notes

Justification

Cantharellus nigrescens is a species of chanterelle from Madagascar. It is one of the more common species to be found in Eucalyptus plantations in the Central Highlands, and as such it is not thought to be under significant threat. Therefore, it is assessed as Least Concern.

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Geographic range

Cantharellus nigrescens is a chanterelle species of the Central Highlands of Madagascar (Ariyawansa et al. 2015). It is common in Eucalyptus robusta plantations (Ariyawansa et al. 2015), and so its full distribution is likely to be considerably larger than currently known.

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Population and Trends

Ariyawansa et al. (2015) consider this species to be one of the more common fungal species of Eucalyptus plantations in Madagascar, and it can be so abundant that it can “cover the soil” (Ariyawansa et al. 2015).

Population Trend: Stable

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Habitat and Ecology

This species is common in Eucalyptus robusta plantations (Ariyawansa et al. 2015), although it is assumed that its native habitat is probably high altitude forest, given its distribution.

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Threats

Logging of the plantations could potentially cause some disturbance to the species, but given how it is adapted to an introduced, commercial species, it is not thought likely that there are any significant threats to the species at the moment.

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Conservation Actions

Research to see how widespread the species is, and to identify its potential natural host could be beneficial.

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Use and Trade

This species apparently was not readily sold in markets, but subsequent to fungal inventory surveys, where the species was collected in large amounts, it is now being sold around and in Antananarivo (Ariyawansa et al. 2015).

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Source and Citation

Westrip, J.R.S. 2025. Cantharellus nigrescens. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T189960661A269712581. Accessed on 26 November 2025.

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• Country occurrence