How to identify Cinnamon Cort

To correctly identify Cinnamon Cort (Cortinarius cinnamomeus), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   Convex to flat at maturity, 2-6 cm wide, typically reddish-brown or yellowish-brown, often with a slight umbo.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Adnate to notched, bright yellow or ochre-yellow when young, becoming rusty-brown due to spore deposition.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   Cylindrical, 4-8 cm long, slender, colored yellow to yellow-brown, with thin remnants of the yellow fibrillose cortina.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Yellowish; does not change color significantly when bruised.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Small to medium, featuring a web-like cortina that leaves a faint, often brownish zone on the stalk.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Mycorrhizal with both coniferous and deciduous trees, often found in mossy areas, boggy regions, or damp coniferous forests.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Slightly fibrillose or silky, darkening with age.

Growth Form

Solitary to subgregarious.

Spore Print

Rusty-brown.

Body color

Yellowish-brown to cinnamon-brown.

Odor

Mild to earthy.

Flesh bruises

No significant change.

Height

4-8 cm

Cap Diameter

2-6 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Adnate to emarginate.
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, sometimes slightly tapering at the base.
• Stem surface: Fibrillose with cortina remnants.
• Ring: Absent; replaced by a cobweb-like zone.
• Stem cross-section: Solid, light yellow flesh.

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