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The bright red webcap (Cortinarius erythrinus) is a lamellar mushroom belonging to the Spiderweb family and the Spiderweb genus. First described by the Swedish botanist, founder of the science of mycology, Elias Fries in 1838. Its other scientific name: Agaricus caesius, since 1818.
Description of the spider web of bright red
The spider web is bright red and consists of a cap and a relatively long, thin stem. If the mushrooms have sprouted through a thick layer of moss, the legs can be three times the diameter of the caps, remaining no more than 0.7 cm thick.
The bright red webcap often hides in moss thickets, exposing only the tops to the surface
Description of the hat
Only the fruiting bodies that have appeared have rounded-bell-shaped caps. As they grow, they straighten out, first acquiring a regular spherical or umbrella shape, then becoming almost straight, outstretched. In the center of most specimens, a pointed tubercle and a bowl-shaped depression are clearly visible. The edges are tucked at first, then become slightly downward, and in overgrowths they can rise, showing the jagged edge of the hymenophore. The diameter is usually from 0.8 to 2.5 cm, very rare specimens grow up to 3-5 cm.
The color of young specimens is uneven, in the center of the cap it is noticeably darker, the edges are light. From rich chocolate to pinkish brown, pale chestnut and beige shades. In overgrown specimens, the color becomes uniformly dark, black-chocolate or purple-chestnut. The surface is smooth, matte, slightly velvety, with clearly visible radial fibers. In overgrowths, it is covered with fine wrinkles, shining in bright light and in damp weather.
Hymenophore plates are rare, dentate-accreted, of different lengths. Quite wide, uneven. The color can range from creamy ocher, off-red and milky coffee to dark brown with reddish and bluish tints. Reddish purple and purple spots can often be found. The spore powder has a brownish color. The pulp is light brown, dirty purple or reddish chocolate, thin, firm.
Hymenophore plates have unevenly serrated, curved edges
Leg description
The spider web is bright red, has a cylindrical leg, hollow, often curved-sinuous, with distinct longitudinal grooves-fibers. The surface is matt, slightly damp. The color is uneven, with spots and longitudinal lines, from creamy yellowish and pale beige to pink-brown and purple-chestnut, the cap may have a violet-brown hue. Its length is from 1.3 to 4 cm, some specimens reach 6-7 cm, thickness varies from 0.3 to 0.7 cm.
Most of the leg is covered with a grayish-silvery downy
Where and how it grows
The bright red webcap appears in the forests early, in May, as soon as the ground warms up. Mushrooms bear fruit until the end of June.Rarely give a second harvest, which occurs in early-mid-autumn. Distributed in temperate and subtropical climates, in the central and southern regions of Russia, in Europe.
They prefer damp places, grass thickets and moss bumps. They grow mainly in deciduous forests, next to birches, lindens and oaks. Can also be found in spruce forests. They grow in small, sparsely located groups. This mushroom is rare.
Is the mushroom edible or not
The bright red spider web has been little studied due to its miniature size and extremely low nutritional value. For mushroom pickers, he is not of interest. There is no publicly available verified data on its chemical composition and effect on the human body.
Doubles and their differences
The bright red webcap is extremely similar to some species of related mushrooms.
- The webcap is brilliant (Cortinarius evernius). Inedible, non-toxic. It is distinguished by a delicate color of hats, the color of milk chocolate and encircling tubercles on the legs.
Legs noticeably thicker, fleshy, abundantly covered with white fluff
- The webcap is chestnut. Conditionally edible. It is an autumn mushroom that bears fruit in August-September in deciduous forests and wet spruce forests.Comment! Previously, this type of cobweb was considered identical to bright red. Studies at the cellular level have revealed the differences between these types of fungi.
The caps of the fruiting bodies are reddish brown or sandy brown, the hymenophore is distinctly yellowish
Conclusion
The bright red webcap is a small, poorly studied lamellar mushroom. It is very rare in deciduous and mixed birch-spruce forests, in grass and among mosses. Loves wet places. Grows in small groups from May to June. There is no exact data on its edibility.
