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> I don't think a lot of beginners can reliably tell the difference between "gills" and "folds."

Can anyone? The way you know it's a chanterelle is if it smells like apricots. The gill vs fold thing is kind of a red herring.

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Yes, once you have felt and identified a chanterelle with success a few times, it's very easy for an experienced forager to tell the difference between gills and folds (especially in the larger species such as C. californicus). The folds are often veiny and cannot be moved or 'plucked' like gills. In general though, identification should be done using as many factors as possible (e.g. using a identification key which is like a decision tree). For example, besides gills and smell, another way to differentiate the (non- or only mildly-toxic) false chanterelle is the firmness.

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