Cortinarius traganus (Fr.) Fr. 1838
This cort has a pale violaceous cap, that is shiny, silky feeling, and dry. The convex cap has a broad umbo and an inrolled margin with fragments of the purple cortina that become rust-brown on the stem as well. Over time, the cap and the booted bulbous stem take on tannish to brownish colorations with age. The gills are broad, sub-crowded, adnate to slightly emarginate and initially somewhat pale tannish-violet becoming brownish-rust. The flesh is yellow-brown, but the tip of its base is brownish-violet. This cort has is reported to have a strong odor of goats, is bitter and is inedible. Other mycologists describe its odor as fruity. It is mycorrhizal with conifers. It resembles Cortinarius camphoratus, which smells like rotting potatoes. Cortinarius traganus is an European ‘cort’. Some mycologists consider Cortinarius pyriodorus Kaufmann to be our variant species.
Cortinarius traganus