Summary:
Subgenus Dermocybe. Features include dry brownish olive cap, dull light green young gills, brownish olive fibrillose stem, growth with Sphagnum, and microscopic characters. Kauffman(6) noted in the original description that the colors become rather darker as it loses moisture. It is also known as Cortinarius chrysolithus Kauffman.

Cap:
1.5-4cm across, convex then flat, slightly fleshy, margin incurved becoming downcurved; unicolorous, "light brownish olive" to "buffy-citrine" (Ridgway(1) colors); densely innately fibrillose-hairy, (Kauffman), brownish olive ("light brownish olive"), (Ammirati)

Flesh:
thin on margin; colored as cap and stem surface, (Kauffman)

Gills:
"adnate, emarginate, rather broad, close, thickish"; at first "chrysolite-green" (Ridgway(1) color), then yellowish cinnamon, (Kauffman(3)), entire on edge (Kauffman(6))

Stem:
7-10cm x 0.3-0.5cm, equal, stuffed then hollow; brownish olive; fibrillose; mycelioid at base and attached to Sphagnum, (Kauffman(3))

Veil:
cortina olivaceous (Kauffman(3))

Odor:
slight (not radish-like) (Kauffman(3))

Taste:
mild (Kauffman(3))

Microscopic spores:
spores 8-11(12) x 5-6.2 microns, elliptic in side view, ornamented, yellowish brown to light fulvous, (Ammirati), spores 8-9 x 5-6 microns, oval-elliptic, slightly rough, (Kauffman(3))

Notes:
The type is from NY. Cortinarius chrysolitus has been collected in ON, MI, and NY (Ammirati). Harrower(1) assigned a BC collection sequence 84 to Cortinarius chrysolitus. The same sequence occurs in WA and is only 1.5 base pairs different from the eastern North American holotype, (D. Miller, pers. comm.). Morphological correlation is desirable.

EDIBILITY

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Dermocybe chrysolita (Kauffman) Ammirati