E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Summary:
Subgenus Phlegmacium. Features of Cortinarius luteicolor include 1) a glutinous cap that is rich dull yellow or yellow tinged with olive and gradually becomes dull cinnamon on disc, 2) whitish flesh that has a greenish line along the gills and in stem becomes pale olivaceous, 3) adnate, narrow, close to crowded gills that are dull clear yellow becoming olive-yellow, 4) a solid yellow stem with a flanged bulb and pale greenish yellow fibrillose veil remnants, 5) growth in coniferous forests, and 6) microscopic characters including somewhat almond-shaped spores. The description is derived from Smith(12) except where specified.

The type is from the Olympic Mountains in WA and was sequenced. Collections from CA were examined and sequenced. There are collections with matching sequences from BC and OR. (Liimatainen(2))

Cap:
5-9cm, broadly convex becoming nearly flat, the margin usually somewhat downcurved "and long remaining inrolled"; rich dull yellow or yellow tinged with olive at first, becoming dull cinnamon on the disc; very glutinous in wet weather, bald "or appearing fibrillose-streaked beneath the gluten, disc developing small patchlike scales as the gluten dries", (Smith), "Typical for the species are at first rich dull yellow or yellow tinged pileus gradually becoming dull cinnamon...", (Liimatainen)

Flesh:
thick; "whitish but with a watery greenish line along the gills"; in stem pallid but becoming pale olivaceous

Gills:
bluntly adnate, narrow (0.6-0.7cm broad), nearly equal, close to crowded, 2 tiers of subgills; dull rather clear yellow, becoming more of an olive-yellow and finally dull rusty from spores; edges somewhat eroded, (Smith), pale yellow (Liimatainen)

Stem:
5-7cm x 2-2.5cm at top, up to 4cm at bulb which is flanged and non-depressed with a somewhat pointed tip, stem solid; pale bright yellow or paler, base sordid yellow with numerous pale bright yellow rhizomorphs; stem surface "more or less fibrillose from remains of the pale greenish yellow cortina"

Veil:
pale greenish yellow

Microscopic spores:
spores 9-11.5 x 6-7 microns, "subalmond-shaped", "rusty brown under the microscope, with a wrinkled exospore"; basidia 4-spored, "basidia-like cells with amorphous purple-fuscous content rather rare"; "cheilocystidia none seen"