Fleshy Fungi of New Brunswick >> Cortinarius mucifluus

Cortinarius collinitus (Sowerby) Gray

Solitary in needle litter in area dominated by Abies balsamea and Betula papyrifera, Kennedy Lakes Protected Natural Area, New Brunswick (03-07-19/01).

Pileus conical, with a large broad umbo, not striate, viscid, glabrous, medium brown (HSV25:60-70:70), 35 mm in diameter. Stipe equal to very narrowly ventricose, white, obscurely violaceous in the upper part, viscid, 80 X 13 mm. Lamellae yellow orange (HSV35:20:90), adnexed, subclose, not marginate. Cortina white, fairly abundant. Flesh concolorous with the surface tissues immediately below the pileipellis, orange white (HSV35:05-10:100), with a nondescript mushroom odour and taste – not bitter.

Basidiospores not forming a spore print, limoniform, with a distinct apical “snout”, moderately roughened, 11.4-14.8 x 7.6-8.4 μm, Q = 1.45-1.77 (average[28]: 13.1 x 8.0 μm, Q = 1.64). Cheilocystidia forming a continuous sterile margin, clavate, similar to immature basidia, 24-43 x 7.6-12.7 μm. Basidia 4-spored, with a basal clamp connection. Pileipellis a ixotrichodermium up to 600 µm thick, seated on a thin non-gelatinous subpellus of encrusted hyphae.

Recognized by its yellow brown viscid pileus, white viscid stipe with a slight tinge of violet near the apex and flesh with a mild (not bitter) taste. Microscopically it is characterized by its large basidiospores with a distinct apical "snout", small cheilocystidia that form a sterile edge to the lamellae and clamp connections on all hyphae. Cortinarius mucosus is very similar but differs in consistently growing under pines and having much narrower basidiospores. Cortinarius mucifluus grows in similar habitats and may resemble C. collinitus but consistently lacks clamp connections on its hyphae.

The North American species C. muscigenus, described by Charles Peck, is probably synonymous. Bendiksen et al.(Persoonia 14: 583-585. 1992) examined Peck's original collection and was unable to find any differences between it and European collections of C. collinitus. However, Peck's material has not yet been sequenced, so the matter is not entirely closed.

Photograph: D. Malloch (03-07-19/01).