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Species Information
Summary: Subgenus Phlegmacium. Distinctive features are a viscid yellow cap when young that becomes brown from the center outward, violet-tinged flesh, yellow gills, and a dry stem with a bulb.
Cortinarius cedretorum occurs in southern OR but is commoner in northern CA (M. Seidl, pers. comm.). It was reported by Schalkwijk-Barendsen(1) from AB. DNA sequencing indicates its presence in BC (Harrower(1)). Cortinarius cedretorum is also found in Europe.
Cap: 5-15cm across, convex with inrolled margin when young, becoming broadly convex or flat; at first yellow but darkening slowly to cinnamon brown, orange-brown, or reddish brown from center outward, the margin often remaining yellowish; surface smooth, viscid or slimy when moist, (Arora), 8-15cm across, convex with inrolled margin for a long time; pallid yellow at first, later the center becoming brick reddish, when old almost purple-brown; very glutinous at first, (Phillips), up to 12cm across, round when young, expanding to flat; yellow soon changing to brick red and then to the color of raw steak; slimy, (Schalkwijk-Barendsen)
Flesh: thick, firm; pallid to pale yellow with distinct lavender or violet areas near cap surface and in stem, often ochraceous-yellow in stem base, (Arora), lavender under cap surface, otherwise pallid whitish, (Phillips), pale lavender in cap, shimmery geranium-pink in stem, (Schalkwijk-Barendsen)
Gills: adnate to adnexed, close; yellow or sometimes greenish yellow when young, dull cinnamon brown when old, "but often with an intermediate lavender to dull purple phase", (Arora), "adnexed; pallid yellowish then rusty", (Phillips), broad, with intermediates, honey yellow at first, then light brown; serrate, (Schalkwijk-Barendsen)
Stem: 4-12cm x 1.5-3cm thick at top, with conspicuous, abrupt, rimmed basal bulb (3-7cm wide) at least when young, stem solid; color variable, pale lavender or yellow at top or throughout, becoming dingy or often rusty-stained when old, the bulb usually yellow; stem not viscid, (Arora), 5-12cm x 1.3-2.5cm at top, "with a large rounded marginate bulb" up to 5cm wide; whitish, with pale lavender touches, more yellow on bulb, (Phillips), up to 10cm tall and 2.5cm wide at top, sturdy, tall with an abrupt basal bulb; buff, streaked with reddish-brownish fibers, (Schalkwijk-Barendsen)
Veil: cortina pale yellow to greenish yellow, usually leaving hairs on stem, (Arora)
Odor: mild (Arora), not distinctive (Phillips), radish (Schalkwijk-Barendsen)
Taste: pleasant (Phillips)
Microscopic spores: spores 11-14 x 6.5-8 microns, elliptic, rough, (Arora), 10-13 x 6.5-8 microns, almond-shaped, warty, (Phillips)
Spore deposit: rusty brown (Arora)
Habitat / Range
single to scattered or gregarious on ground under conifers, under oak, or in mixed woods, (Arora), under spruce and fir, September to October, later in the South, (Phillips), under Cedrus (true cedar), sometimes hardwoods in warm sites (Courtecuisse for Europe), fall (Buczacki)
Similar Species
Cortinarius fulmineus has cap flesh that is yellow to yellowish white or buff (Arora). C. fulmineus tends not to have a lilac stem, and is overall somewhat more yellow, (M. Seidl, pers. comm.).
