Summary:
Section /Callistei. The Cortinarius callisteus group is characterized by 1) a dry, yellow to orange-yellow or yellow brown cap that is smooth to finely scaly, 2) pale buffy yellowish gills, 3) a club-shaped, orange-yellow stem that is reddish brown toward the base, 4) roundish spores, and 5) odors that may be none, or apples, or resembling that of hot metal/scorched linen/extinguished candles, . The group description here is derived from Thorn(1) except where noted and they examined collections from western North America, eastern North America and Sweden. Niskanen(9) recognized 5 species in North America and Europe on a molecular basis and three of these have molecularly documented collections in British Columbia: Cortinarius callisteus (Fr.)Fr. sensu stricto, Cortinarius neocallisteus, and Cortinarius infucatus. The Niskanen(9) descriptions for these three are listed separately. One of the five species is not yet named and is only known from Sweden. Cortinarius tofaceus Fr. is found in eastern North America as well as Europe - it has an odor in the gills "like raw potatoes or old cellar" which may be the source of the odor mentioned by Thorn(1) below. Cortinarius tofaceus is otherwise characterized by "the golden to orange-brown, scaly pileus, yellowish, cylindrical to clavate stipe, yellow universal veil, and white context in pileus and upper part of the stipe" and also somewhat elongate spores measuring (7)7.5-8(8.5) x 5.8-6.5 microns. (Niskanen(9)).

Cap:
2.2-7cm across, convex or convex-turbinate to expanded, [Phillips says convex expanding to flattish or with a central flat area]; light yellow, yellowish tan, "ochraceous" to grayish red (last color from Kornerup 7B5); dry, bald or slightly cracked or with small, concentric, slightly recurved scales that are concolorous at first but darken when old, (Thorn), gold-yellow to orange-yellow (Breitenbach)

Flesh:
moderately thick; white to yellowish or orange-white

Gills:
adnexed or sinuate with decurrent tooth, close to subdistant; at first yellowish or grayish yellow, then rusty or "raw sienna"

Stem:
4-9cm x 0.7-1.5cm, equal or with slightly bulbous base [Phillips gives up to 3cm for basal bulb diameter]; light yellow, golden yellow or "orange-ochraceous"; dry, fibrillose or banded with veil remnants that are grayish red to reddish brown (Kornerup 8B5 to 8D5), (Thorn), with a distinct ring from universal veil when young (Phillips), club-shaped, at times somewhat fusiform-rooting, solid, fragile; orange-yellow, increasingly reddish brown (rhubarb-colored) toward base, (Breitenbach)

Veil:
fugacious [fleeting], yellowish white cortina, universal veil leaves grayish red to reddish brown remnants on stem, (Thorn), distinct ring from universal veil when young (Phillips)

Odor:
locomotive (Moser), distinctive, described variously as scorched linen, heated laundry iron, hotplate, hot metal, or locomotive (Paul Kroeger, pers. comm.), slight (Phillips), sharp, fungus-like, or of potatoes or radish-like, (Thorn), strong, motor oil, model electric trains, ozone, (Buczacki)

Taste:
mild or bitter

Microscopic spores:
spores (6.1)6.8-7.9(8.7) x (4.8)5.5-6.5(7.2) microns, broadly ovate or subglobose to globose [nearly round to round], finely to coarsely warted; basidia 4-spored, (32)35-46 x 8-12(13) microns, clavate; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia lacking, (Thorn), spores 8-10.5 x 6.2-8 microns, broadly elliptic to nearly round, moderately verrucose, yellow brown; basidia 4-spored, 38-42 x 10-12 microns, clavate, with basal clamp connection; no pleurocystidia, marginal cells 15-25 x 8-10 microns, basidiole-like; cap cuticle of periclinal hyphae 6-13 microns wide, occasional hyphal ends exserted, yellow-brown and encrusted, most septa with clamp connections, (Breitenbach)

Spore deposit:
rusty brown (Phillips), red-brown (Breitenbach)

Notes:
Collections of Cortinarius callisteus group were examined from WA, OR, ID, NT, QC, MI, NY, TN, and Sweden, (Thorn). There are also collections at the University of Washington from AK labeled as Cortinarius callisteus. Niskanen(9) list collections of Cortinarius callisteus sensu stricto from BC, WA, NL, Estonia, Finland, France, Norway, Serbia, Spain, and Sweden, of Cortinarius neocallisteus from BC, Spain, and Switzerland, of Cortinarius infucatus from BC, NL, Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden, of Cortinarius callistei from Sweden, and of Cortinarius tofaceus from NL, QC, NY, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden.

EDIBILITY

no (Phillips)