Summary:
Subgenus Myxacium by appearance, Subgenus Phlegmacium by phylogeny. Cortinarius oregonensis is distinguished by a glutinous, pale lilac cap with a brownish to yellowish disc, bright pinkish lilac gills when young, a viscid stem with a violet-fibrillose sheath, the stem becoming whitish, a mild taste, and small spores.

Cap:
2-4cm across, convex then slightly umbonate or becoming flat; disc near "cinnamon-buff", margin "pale lavender-violet", when old very pale violaceous white with a somewhat yellowish disc, "occasionally streaked by appressed concolorous fibrils, margin somewhat violet-fibrillose from the partial veil"; glutinous when wet, (Smith), 2-4.5cm across, "broadly convex becoming flat; pallid buff, buffy yellow in the center, more violet near the edge; glutinous", (Phillips)

Flesh:
thick on disc, rather cartilaginous in cap; watery violet-brown in cap, colored as young gills in top of stem (white when old), and whitish in lower stem, (Smith), watery violet to brownish (Phillips)

Gills:
depressed adnate, close, moderately broad; "chinese violet" at first, becoming paler and finally brownish; edge even, (Smith), adnate; pallid pinkish violet at first then pallid, then rusty, (Phillips)

Stem:
6-10cm x 0.5-1cm, slightly enlarged in lower part; "peronate with a bright violet fibrillose sheath which soon fades to violaceous white", top of stem violet at first, white when old; lower part viscid from thin, glutinous universal veil, (Smith), 4-6cm x 0.6-1cm, slightly broader at base, "pallid violet at first, then pallid whitish", (Phillips)

Veil:
[forming slime layer on cap and stem]

Odor:
not distinctive (Smith), slight, (Phillips)

Taste:
not distinctive, cap skin not bitter, (Smith), mild, (Phillips)

Microscopic spores:
spores 7-8(9) x 4-5 microns, elliptic, nearly smooth; no cheilocystidia, (Smith), 6.5-7.6 x 3.7-4.6 microns, elliptic, slightly roughened, (Phillips), [presumably without apical pore]

Spore deposit:
rusty brown (Phillips)

Notes:
It has been found at least in WA and OR, (Phillips) and sequenced from BC (Liimatainen(2)).

EDIBILITY

no (Phillips)