A STUDY OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE GENUS 
CORTINARIUS 
Gertrude E. Douglas 
The genus Cortinarius has always been one of particular interest 
to me on account of the exquisite beauty of its coloration and, in 
certain species, the peculiar delicacy of its cobwebby veil. It seems 
strange that a structure as fragile as the latter could be at the same 
time so persistent, continuing, as it does, until the fruit body has 
pushed its way well up through the hard particles of soil. It was, 
therefore, with considerable delight that, while looking for material 
for morphological study, in company with Professor Atkinson, we ran 
across Cortinarius distans and Cortinarius cinnamomeus in all stages 
of development. This collection, with that of three other species, 
previously fixed and embedded by Professor Atkinson, furnished the 
material for the study described in this paper. 
The development of Cortinarius has never been studied. Kauff- 
man,i in his systematic work on the genus, pointed out the need of a 
more thorough study of the young stages, in order to determine the 
exact origin of the universal veil and the cortina. Since this work 
was published, the confusion in regard to the veils in a number of the 
Agaricaceae has been cleared away by the studies of Atkinson con- 
cerning the homologies of the veil in species of Agaricus'^'^''^, Lepiota,^ 
Amanitopsis,^ and Coprinus.^ In the light of this recent work, it 
becomes important that other species of the family Agaricaceae be 
^ Kauffman, C. H. The genus Cortinarius, a preliminary study. Bull. Torrey 
Club 32: 301-325- 1905- 
"Atkinson, G. F. The development of Agaricus campestris. Bot. Gaz. 42: 
241-264. pis. 7-12. 1906. 
2 Atkinson, G. F. The development of Agaricus arvensis and A. comtulus. 
Amer. Journ. Bot. i: 3-22. pis. i, 2. 1914. 
^ Atkinson, G. F. Morphology and development of Agaricus rodmani. Proc. 
Amer. Phil. Soc. 54: 309-343- pls. 7-13- I9I5- 
^ Atkinson, G. F, The development of Lepiota clypeolaria. Ann. Mycol. 12: 
346-356. pis. 13-16. 1914. 
6 Atkinson, G. F. The development of Amanitopsis vaginata. Ann. Mycol. 12: 
369-392. pis. 17-19- 1914- 
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