The yellow-orange dry, solid, smooth, curved stalk is 3-8 inches long, 3/8 to 5/8 inches thick, tapering toward the blackish base.

This decomposer grows clustered on or around deciduous stumps or buried wood, often in spectacularly large quantities.

People have confused it the choice, edible chanterelle, a much smaller orange mushroom that grows on the ground, with shallow, forked (branched) gills.

The mushroom gets its name because it glows dark! Wait until night, keep all light out of a room, go into a closet, close the door (don't lock yourself in!), and wait 5 minutes until your eyes adjusted completely to the dark. Then you'll see the gills glowing pale-green!