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A highly dangerous, lethal mushroom characterized by its rusty-brown coloration and the presence of a cortina in young specimens.
How to Identify
- Cap
- 3-8 cm diameter, convex to conical, often with a distinct central umbo, surface dry and fibrillose.
- Gills
- Adnate to adnexed, distant, broad, rusty-brown when mature due to spore deposition.
- Stem
- 4-10 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical or slightly tapering, yellowish with paler horizontal bands (remnants of the partial veil).
- Flesh
- Yellowish to orange-brown, thin, with no distinctive taste.
- Fruiting body
- Medium-sized agaric with a characteristic rusty-red to orange-brown appearance.
- Habitat
- Exclusively associated with coniferous trees, particularly spruce, in damp, mossy habitats.
Key Facts
- Cap surfaces: Dry, fibrillose, slightly scaly.
- Growth Form: Solitary to gregarious.
- Spore Print: Rusty brown.
- Body color: Orange-brown to reddish-brown.
- Odor: Mild, nondescript.
- Flesh bruises: Does not change color significantly.
- Height: 4-10 cm.
- Cap Diameter: 3-8 cm.
- Nutrient gathering: Mycorrhizal symbiont.
Toxic
DeadlyContains orellanine, a potent nephrotoxin that causes delayed kidney failure. Symptoms may appear 2 to 20 days after ingestion.
Quick Check
- Odor: Mild, slightly earthy or radish-like.
- Fruiting: August to October.
- Substrate: Ground/Soil associated with mycorrhizal conifers.
Where to Find
Northern Europe
Widely distributed in coniferous forests, particularly in Scandinavia and the British Isles.
North America
Present in specific northern cool-temperate coniferous ecosystems.
Finding Tips
Do not consume
This species is lethal. Never attempt to identify for consumption purposes.
Ecological niche
Look for damp, Sphagnum-rich areas under spruce trees in late summer to autumn.
Similar Species
Poison Firecoral
Podostroma
Also known as: Podostroma cornu-damae
Deadly dapperling
Lepiota
Also known as: Lepiota brunneoincarnata
Scientific Classification
- Phylum
- Basidiomycota
- Class
- Agaricomycetes
- Order
- Agaricales
- Family
- Cortinariaceae
- Genus
- Cortinarius
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