''Cortinarius sanguineus'', commonly known as the blood red webcap, is a species of

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

in the genus ''

Cortinarius ''Cortinarius'' is a globally distributed genus of mushrooms in the family Cortinariaceae. It is suspected to be the largest genus of agarics, containing over 2,000 widespread species. A common feature among all species in the genus ''Cortinariu ...

''.

Taxonomy

Austrian naturalist

Franz Xaver von Wulfen Franz Xaver Freiherr von Wulfen (5 November 1728 – 17 March 1805) was an Austrian botanist, zoologist, mineralogist, alpinist, and Jesuit priest. He is credited with discovering the flowering plants ''Wulfenia carinthiaca'', ''Saxifraga mo ...

described the species as ''Agaricus sanguineus'' in 1781, reporting that it appeared in the

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

tree forests around

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

and Ebenthal and in October. He noted that it was very pretty but edible. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''sanguineus'', meaning "bloody".

Samuel Frederick Gray Samuel Frederick Gray (10 December 1766 – 12 April 1828) was a British botanist, mycologist, and pharmacologist. He was the father of the zoologists John Edward Gray and George Robert Gray. Background He was the son of Samuel Gray, a London s ...

established ''Cortinarius'' as a genus in the first volume of his 1821 work ''A Natural Arrangement of British Plants'', recording the species as ''Cortinaria sanguinea'' "the bloody curtain-stool".

Friedrich Otto Wünsche Friedrich Otto Wünsche (1839–1905) was a German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citiz ...

described it as ''Dermocybe sanguinea'' in 1877. Most mycologists retain ''Dermocybe'' as merely a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

of ''Cortinarius'' as genetically all the species lie within the latter genus. It is closely related to '' Cortinarius puniceus'', which grows under oak and beech from England and France.

Description

The dark blood-red

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

is convex, and later flattens, measuring 2–5 cm (0.8–2 in) across, its surface covered in silky fibres radiating from the centre. The stipe is usually the same colour as the cap or paler. Long, slim, and cylindrical, it is 3–6 cm high by 0.3–0.8 cm wide. The veil (cortina) and its remnants are red. The

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

are adnate. They are initially blood-red, but turn brown upon aging as the spores mature. The purple-red

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as mu ...

has a pleasant smell. The

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

is rust-coloured, while the oval spores themselves measure 7 to 9 µm by 4 to 6 µm, and are rough. ''Cortinarius sanguineus'' grows in conifer woodlands in autumn. It is edible. Its

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

can be used as a dye for wool, rendering it shades of pink, purple or red. The major pigments in ''C. sanguineus'' are

emodin Emodin (6-methyl-1,3,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone) is a chemical compound, of the anthraquinone family, that can be isolated from rhubarb, buckthorn, and Japanese knotweed (''Reynoutria japonica'' syn. ''Polygonum cuspidatum''). Emodin is particular ...

, dermocybin and dermorubin.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q9387379 sanguineus Fungi of Europe Fungi described in 1781 Inedible fungi Taxa named by Franz Xaver von Wulfen

Taxonomy

Description

See also

References

External links