Species details
Bitter webcap
Cortinarius infractus
Poisonous
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo source · License
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Description
A variable olive-grey to dirty-brown webcap with dark sooty-brown gills and a cap that becomes slimy when wet.
Identification features
The cap is often irregular or humped, slimy when wet and shiny when dry. Gills are dark grey to olive-brown early on. The stem is dirty white to silver-grey, cylindrical or club-shaped and may be enlarged at the base.
Identification checklist
Check for a dirty olive-grey to brown cap, dark sooty-olive gills, rust-brown spores and cortina remnants. Strong bitterness is reported in references, but FungiTrail does not recommend tasting wild mushrooms.
How to separate similar species
Other slimy webcaps can be very similar. Compare young gill colour, stem base, cap, tree association and spore print; a cap-only photograph is insufficient.
Habitat
Mycorrhizal with both deciduous and coniferous trees, often on calcareous soils; mainly in autumn.
Fruiting period
September, October, November
Similar species
- Blue-foot webcap (Cortinarius glaucopus)
- Contrary webcap (Cortinarius varius)
- Cortinarius species