Cortinarius mucosus

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***Cortinarius mucosus***, commonly known as the **orange webcap** or the **slimy cortinarius**, is a species of mushroom in the family Cortinariaceae. In North America, the species is more commonly associated with northern coniferous forests. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word *mucosus*, meaning mucus.

## Taxonomy

Originally described as *Agaricus mucosus* by French mycologist Pierre Bulliard in 1792, *Cortinarius mucosus* belongs to the subgenus *Myxacium* (characterized by the presence of a viscid to glutinous outer veil and stipe), section *Myxacium* (distinguished by the presence of clamp connections), according to the infrageneric classification of the *Cortinarius* genus proposed by Moser in Singer (1986).

## Description

 File:P1050690 Cortinarius mucosus.jpg
The species has a sticky brown to orange cap, 4 to 10 cm (1½ to 4 in) in diameter, that is darker towards the center and with a rolled-in margin. The gills are closely spaced, have an adnexed attachment to the stipe, and are pale yellowish at first, becoming rusty brown as the spores mature. Like all species in the genus *Cortinarius*, young specimens have a cortina, a cobweb-like annulus that protects the developing gills. The slimy stipe, Template:Convert long by Template:Convert thick, is whitish until the spores mature and begin falling. The spore print is rust- to ochre-colored. Both the odor and the taste of this mushroom are nondescript.

The spores have a rough surface, and an elliptical shape, with dimensions of 12–14 x 5.5–6.5 µm. The basidia are 4-spored, and cystidia are not present on the edge of the gills.

The species is commonly found under birch and coniferous trees. It prefers acidic, sandy soils.

## Edibility

Due to the prevalence of toxins in the *Cortinarius* genus, and the difficulty of positively identifying specimens to species level, consumption of any *Cortinarius* species is not generally recommended. Also, specimens of *C. mucosus* collected from northern Poland were found to bioaccumulate high concentrations of the toxic element mercury—that is, the concentration of mercury in the mature mushroom was significantly higher than that of the soil in which it grew.

## See also

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* List of *Cortinarius* species

## External links

* Several photos of fruiting bodies and sporesTemplate:Dead link
* Photos and description

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Roger's Mushrooms – *Cortinarius mucosus*. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Template:Cite book Google Books
3. ↑ Template:Cite book Google Books
4. ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
5. ↑ Template:Cite book
6. ↑ Seidl MT. (2000). Phylogenetic relationships within *Cortinarius* subgenus *Myxacium*, sections *Defibulati* and *Myaxcium*. *Mycologia* **92**(6): 1091–1102.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Template:Cite book
8. ↑ First Nature
9. ↑ *Cortinarius mucosus* (zas³onak kleisty). Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
10. ↑ Falandysz J, Kawano M, Swieczkowski A, Brzostowski A, Dadej M. (2003). Total mercury in wild-grown higher mushrooms and underlying soil from Wdzydze Landscape Park, Northern Poland. *Food Chemistry* **81**(1): 21–26.

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