Deadly Webcap

Cortinarius

The Deadly Webcap is a dangerous mushroom that should never be eaten. It's important to stay safe!

Habitat: Forests

Appearance

The Deadly Webcap has a conical to bell-shaped, often rusty-orange to reddish-brown cap with a finely scaly surface. Its gills are broadly spaced and rust-brown, while the stem is slender, often yellow-orange, and can have yellowish bands from the web-like partial veil.

KingdomFungiPhylumBasidiomycotaClassAgaricomycetesOrderAgaricalesFamilyCortinariaceae

Deadly Webcap

Interesting facts

Deadly Webcap often looks like edible mushrooms, tricking even experienced foragers.

Eating even a small piece can cause permanent kidney damage or death.

Its poison, orellanine, can take days or even weeks to show symptoms!

The 'webcap' name comes from a delicate, cobweb-like veil under its cap.

Special abilities

Deadly Webcap can produce a powerful toxin called orellanine that slowly destroys kidneys, making it extremely dangerous.

Deadly Webcap has a special underground connection with tree roots, sharing nutrients through a process called mycorrhiza.

Deadly Webcap can release millions of rusty-brown spores into the wind, helping new mushrooms grow far away.

Measurements & details

Height: 3-12 cm
Edibility: deadly
Cap Diameter: 2-7 cm
Growth Substrate: soil
Season: Late summer to late autumn
Spore Color: Rusty brown

Ecological connections

symbiotic with

Norway Spruce

Picea abies

Shares nutrients with its root system.

symbiotic with

Scots Pine

Pinus sylvestris

Exchanges resources with the roots of this pine.

eaten by

Spanish Slug

Arion lusitanicus

Slugs may graze on its fungal fruiting bodies.

Traits

Spore Producing

Discover how some plants and fungi create tiny little "seeds" called spores to help them grow new life! These tiny particles drift in the air, spreading new generations far and wide.