North American Cortinarius Collections
An ongoing study
Cortinarius talimultiformis is fairly typical of /Multiformes in the yellow-brown cap, relatively squat stature, white to grey-white young gills and white context. The species in this section are hard to differentiate - . While the type description differentiates Cortinarius talus (deciduous forest) from Cortinarius talimultiformes (Picea and Abies) on the basis of habitat, in our region Cortinarius talus is found in conifer forest too.
Cortinarius kranabetteri Niskanen, Liimat., Harrower, Ammirati & Dima (2021) Discussion Cortinarius kranabetteri was named in honor of Marty Kranabetter, fungal ecologist of British Columbia, Canada. It is known from only two collections from Northern BC and Alberta, CA where it is was found in mature conifer or mixed forests with Populus. A full description may be... Continue Reading →
Cortinarius albidipes Peck, Bulletin of the New York State Museum 157: 57 (1912) Note: This is a Peck species included in a recent Type study of Section Anomali. I refer you to their description until I have time to document recent collections more fully. Description: Named as the "white footed" Cortinarius, the species is distinct... Continue Reading →
Cortinarius nettieae Ammirati, C.L. Cripps, Liimat., Niskanen & Dima, Mycological Progress 20 (11): 1427 (2021) Note: This is a recently described species, named for the late Nettie Laycock. I refer you to the type description until I have time to detail these collections fully. Description For full description see: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11557-021-01738-0 Photos SDA798 Washington Coast SequenceSDA788... Continue Reading →
Recent work on Cortinarius section Leprocybe (Ammirati et al, 2020) has described many new species and given us new insight on the diversity of North American species. One of these is Cortinarius arosquamosus, discussed here.
Cortinarius armeniacus is not often collected in our region, but is likely overlooked due to inconspicuous colors and general neglect of Cortinarius species. It can be recognized by the smooth to shiny, hygrophanous yellow to chestnut-brown cap with white margin, firm whitish-drab stipe and convex cap with low umbo
Cortinarius fructuodorus is best recognized by the Cortinarius traganus-like fruity pear odor for which it is named, overall brown (or slightly purple-brown tones) and spores in the range of 8.5-10 x 5.0-6.0 microns. This species is one of several larger pale Telamonia in our region which need further study.
Cortinarius pitkinensis is a yellow-to-orange gilled Dermocybe known to occur at higher elevation in mossy drainages. It is likely to be misidentified as Cortinarius croceus or Cortinarius cinnamomeus - the most widely known names for yellow and orange-gilled Dermocybe. As it happens, there are many similar species which are challenging to differentiate.
Cortinarius trappei - Ammirati, Liimat. & Niskanen 2014 Description:Pileus: 15-35 mm across, convex, sub-umbonate to umbonate, margin straight to inrolled when young, surface moist to dry, burgandy to red-brown, or dull tan when dry, typically covered with fine, appressed bronze (pale orange-brown) veil remnants. Gills: Close, burgandy to rich wine-red, becoming dark brown in age.... Continue Reading →
An olive-yellow Cortinarius with yellow gills, and obliquely marginate bulb, described from Austria. While there are several bright yellow Cortinarius species that occur in conifer forest, for our PNW region consider also Cortinarius metarius, Cortinarius cupreorufus and Cortinarius picea.
North American Cortinarius Collections 