How to identify Deadly webcap

To correctly identify Deadly webcap (Cortinarius rubellus), 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.

   3-8 cm diameter, convex to conical, often with a distinct central umbo, surface dry and fibrillose.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Adnate to adnexed, distant, broad, rusty-brown when mature due to spore deposition.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   4-10 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical or slightly tapering, yellowish with paler horizontal bands (remnants of the partial veil).

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Yellowish to orange-brown, thin, with no distinctive taste.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Medium-sized agaric with a characteristic rusty-red to orange-brown appearance.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   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.

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Adnate to broadly adnate.
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, sometimes slightly swollen at the base.
• Stem surface: Fibrous with pale yellow, persistent veil bands.
• Ring: Evanescent annular zone rather than a true ring.
• Stem cross-section: Solid, homogeneous.

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