Cortinarius

Cortinarius
Cortinarius archeri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Cortinariaceae
Genus: Cortinarius
(Pers.) Gray (1821)
Type species
Cortinarius violaceus
(L.) Gray (1821)
Diversity
ca. 2000 species
C. violaceus

Cortinarius is a globally distributed genus of mushrooms in the family Cortinariaceae.[1] It is suspected to be the largest genus of agarics, containing over 2,000 widespread species.[2] A common feature among all species in the genus Cortinarius is that young specimens have a cortina (veil) between the cap and the stem, hence the name, meaning curtained. Most of the fibres of the cortina are ephemeral and will leave no trace once gone, except for limited remnants on the stem or cap edge in some species. All have a rusty brown spore print. The common names cortinar and webcap refer to members of the genus. Due to dangerous toxicity of several species (such as Cortinarius orellanus) and the fact that it is difficult to distinguish between various species of the genus, non-expert consumption of mushrooms from the genus is discouraged.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference gbif2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kirk2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).