A slimy-capped webcap with an orange-brown to yellow-brown cap and a stem coated in lilac to purple slime that often dries into bands. In North America the name covers a group of several similar species that are hard to separate without DNA, and no thorough modern study exists.
Inedible; not recommended and should never be collected. Its slimy-stemmed relatives in the group have not been tested, and it can be confused with dangerous webcaps. Cortinarius includes deadly species such as C. orellanus and C. rubellus that contain orellanine, which causes kidney failure that appears only after a delay of days, often after the meal has been forgotten.
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Habitat
Ectomycorrhizal with conifers or hardwoods; scattered or gregarious in summer and fall.
Distribution
Widely reported in North America and Europe as a species group. North American collections under this name may belong to other species, such as C. muscigenus Peck or C. cylindripes Kauffman.
Characteristics
Cap: 3-9 cm, broadly conic to bell-shaped, later nearly convex; thickly slimy and bald; dark purplish brown when young, becoming orangish or yellowish brown; margin finely lined. Gills: attached, close; lilac to pale purple at first, becoming brownish to rusty brown, often with whitish edges. Stem: 8-10 cm long and up to about 2 cm thick, equal or tapering downward; sheathed in lilac to purple slime that often breaks into patches or bands on the lower half; often a rusty ring zone. Flesh: whitish to purplish; odor and taste not distinctive. Spore print: rusty brown. Spores: 12-16.5 x 6.5-8 um, football-shaped, warty (MushroomExpert.com).
