Species details
Gassy webcap
Cortinarius traganus
Poisonous
Photo: Dick Culbert from Gibsons, B.C., Canada · CC BY 2.0 · Photo source · License
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Description
A lilac-purple webcap with brownish flesh and a characteristically unpleasant, often acetylene-like odour.
Identification features
The young cap is lilac, later fading and browning. Gills turn from yellow-brown to rusty brown. The stem is stout and club-shaped with cortina remnants; flesh is yellow-brown.
Identification checklist
Check lilac colours, rust-brown spore print, club-shaped stem, flesh colour, and strong unpleasant smell. Do not taste.
How to separate similar species
Young Cortinarius can look very similar, and the genus includes deadly species. A cap-only photo is not sufficient.
Habitat
Occurs mainly in coniferous and mixed woodland in late summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
August, September, October