''Phlegmacium triumphans'', also known as the birch webcap, or yellow girdled webcap is a
basidiomycete mushroom in the family
Cortinariaceae. It is found in Europe and regarded as edible by some authorities. However, others call it suspect and it resembles inedible species.
Taxonomy
The species was first was described by Swedish mycologist
Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist.
Career
Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö.
He acquired ...
in 1838; its generic name derived from the
Latin ''cortina'' "veil", and the specific ''triumphans'' "triumphing".
It is considered the same species as ''Cortinarius crocolitus'' Quélet by some authorities. It was a member of the subgenus ''Phlegmacium'' within the genus ''
Cortinarius''; mushrooms of this group have sticky (or slimy in wet weather) caps and dry stipes.
In 1905 it was reclassified as ''Phlegmacium triumphans'' by the Norwegian mycologist
Axel Gudbrand Blytt however it remained known as ''Cortinarius triumphans'' until 2022 when a genomic study moved this and many other ''Cortinarius'' species to the ''
Phlegmacium
''Phlegmacium'' is a genus of fungi in the family Cortinariaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus was created in 1877 by the German mycologist Friedrich Otto Wünsche based on the earlier 1821 classification of the ''Agaricus'' tribe ''Phlegmacium'' by t ...
'' genus.
Description
It has a 5–12 cm (2–5 in) diameter
cap which is yellowish in colour-darker in the centre and paler on the edges. The
stipe is 7–17 cm (3–7 in) high and 1–2.5 cm (0.4–1 in) thick and swollen at the base, and is white up top and yellow lower down and bears the tan or brown remnants of the veil. The adnate
gills, which are hidden by a cream or white veil when young, are cream or lilac early on, and darken with the spores, which give a rusty coloured
spore print. The almond-shaped spores measure 10–12.5 × 5.5–7
μm
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
. The flesh is cream-coloured and the taste is mild.
Distribution and habitat
''Phlegmacium triumphans'' appear under birch trees in autumn (fall) in Europe, and Asia where it is widespread, but local. It is also reported from north eastern North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. It has a mycorrhizal relationship with birch trees ('' Betula'').[
]
Edibility
Although some mushroom guides list it as edible,[ others treat it with suspicion,][ as many webcaps have been found to have toxins, not in the least the similarly brown-coloured lethal webcaps. This being the case, it is probably best to avoid it. Thomas Laessoe's 1998 book 'Mushrooms', describes the taste as bitter, with a not unpleasant smell.]
See also
* List of ''Cortinarius'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2511449
triumphans
Fungi of Europe
Fungus species
Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries
Fungi described in 1838