No. 15.] HYMENIALES OF CONNECTICUT. 47 



CORTINARIUS Fr. 



This genus is a member of the ochre-spored group, which 

 group is easily distinguished by the red-yellow color of the gills, 

 due to the accumulation of great masses of spores. Therefore 

 the gills of Cortinarius are tinged with red or yellow, and this 

 color deepens at maturity. In one or two species the gills are 

 deeply blood-red in color. The chief distinguishing character of 

 Cortinarius is a spider-web veil which surrounds the immature 

 plant. As the cap expands, this veil is ruptured, learing a more 

 or less well-defined ring on the stem. This veil disappears at 

 maturity, and young specimens are essential in the determination 

 of species. Many of the plants are beautifully colored, 

 Cortinarius iodes B. & C. being of an especially attractive dark 

 violet color, curiously spotted with white. When immature the 

 plant is wQvy viscid, giving it a polished appearance. The number 

 of species is large, and for the most part the species are moet 

 abundant in the autumn. During the last spring, however, 

 Cortinarius vcnialis was found abundantly in a grassy woodland 

 road. Several of the most common species are considered edible. 



Cortinarius violaceus (L.) Fr. (Plate XXII.) This 

 fungus grows abundantly in the woods, and in color resembles 

 Tricholoma personatum, but C. violaceus is usually a darker 

 shade of violet, and lias the gills rounded as they join the stem. 

 The bulbous base of the stem also suggests T. perso)Ujtum. The 

 cap is convex when young, becoming nearly plane, is usually dry, 

 and covered with fine tufts of hairs. The gills are distant and 

 rather thick, and are colored like the cap, but become tinged with 

 yellow-red as the spores accumulate. The stem is from three to 

 five inches long and one-half inch or more in thickness, with a 

 distinct bulbous base. The flesh is thick and solid, and inclined 

 to be tough at maturity. This is considered one of the best edible 

 species in the genus. 



Cortinarius cinnamomeus (L.) Fr. (Plate XX, Bull. No. 

 3.) This occurs abundantly during September, and is another 

 exceedingly attractive species; it is, however, very different in 

 color from C. violaceus. C. cinnamomeus is characterized by 

 shades of brown and red, the gills becoming deep blood-red at 

 maturity. The cap varies from one to two and one-half inches in 

 diameter. It is somewhat bell-shaped, with a distinct knot or 



