The Field Museum just announced that local scientists have named the chanterelle mushroom most commonly found in the Chicago area after the city of Chicago; henceforth it will be known as Cantharellus chicagoensis. According to the release, scientists once thought chanterelles were a single species but have discovered over the past few decades that there are more than 100 species worldwide. This naming is a rare honor: the Field Museum writes that the mushroom “will join a short lineup of species named after Chicago, including a moth and an extinct mollusk.”
How can you recognize it? From the Field Museum:
