Community find

Deadly Cortinar

Cortinarius rubellus

Group

gilled mushroom

Spore print

Rusty brown or ochre.

Size

Cap diameter 3-8 cm; stipe length 5-11 cm, width 0.5-1.5 cm.

Season

Late summer to autumn.

Habitat

Primarily found in coniferous forests, associated with spruce and pine trees in damp moss.

Distribution

Widespread across Europe and parts of North America.

Key characteristics

Rusty brown cap, fibrous conical shape, yellowish-orange gills, and a yellowish-orange stipe with zig-zag banding.

Fruiting body

Cap is 3-8 cm, conical to convex with a central umbo, tawny to reddish-brown; gills are thick, distant, and ochre-colored; stipe is 5-11 cm long, often tapered at the base with distinctive yellowish velar bands.

How to recognise it

Look for the conical rusty cap, yellowish zig-zag bands on the stem, and the presence of a cortina (cobweb-like veil) in young specimens.

Look-alikes

Cortinarius orellanus (lacks the pointed cap), Armillaria species (which have white spore prints), and various other rusty-brown Cortinarius species.

Ecological role

Mycorrhizal, forming a symbiotic relationship with coniferous trees.

Notes

The genus Cortinarius is one of the largest genera of fungi, containing thousands of species that are often very difficult to distinguish without microscopic analysis.