Confirm on Violet Web Cap...

juliejam · #1 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 02:09 PM

Found this little bunch growing under a bush of wild Blackberry..and beech..

Im I correct with the ID of Cortinarius violaceus..Viloet Web Cap..any help appreciated..

Many thanx

Julie

goosey · #2 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 02:27 PM

Hi Julie, I have no idea what it is but it's a great colour - I have never seen anything as bright as that when I have been looking for fungi

.

juliejam · #3 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goosey

Hi Julie, I have no idea what it is but it's a great colour - I have never seen anything as bright as that when I have been looking for fungi

.

They are a fantastic colour they were easy to spot...plus its my favourite colour...I can remember them growing in the same spot last yr.. my daughter and I have been waited for them to return..

Julie

Chiffchaff · #4 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 04:06 PM

Certainly look like Violet Webcap - cortinarius violaceus. Such a brilliant colour.
Good Find, well done.

juliejam · #5 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiffchaff

Certainly look like Violet Webcap - cortinarius violaceus. Such a brilliant colour.
Good Find, well done.

Thank you ...they were a good find for me ..

Julie

Stewy · #6 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 05:06 PM

Classed as rare in Phillips.

Leif · #7 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 05:44 PM

I am not convinced that they are C. violaceous, in part because the caps look smooth, whereas C. violaceous has a distinctively scurfy cap surface. They also look rather small, whereas C. violaceous is quite large, with 6" tall being typical.

I would be tempted to wonder if they are Wood Blewits. They can be all violet as per the photo, although the cap is more usually brown. What was the texture of the flesh like? Rubbery? And what was the smell? C. violaceous has a lovely aromatic smell.

That said, they do occur with Beech.

juliejam · #8 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leif

I am not convinced that they are C. violaceous, in part because the caps look smooth, whereas C. violaceous has a distinctively scurfy cap surface. They also look rather small, whereas C. violaceous is quite large, with 6" tall being typical.

I would be tempted to wonder if they are Wood Blewits. They can be all violet as per the photo, although the cap is more usually brown. What was the texture of the flesh like? Rubbery? And what was the smell? C. violaceous has a lovely aromatic smell.

That said, they do occur with Beech.

Wouldnt agree with them being Wood Blewits ...found them last week ..can remember these smelling of cedar wood..The tallest one around stood at 4-5 inches high ..being that they have only been there less than a week.

Julie

Leif · #9 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juliejam

Wouldnt agree with them being Wood Blewits ...found them last week ..can remember these smelling of cedar wood..The tallest one around stood at 4-5 inches high ..being that they have only been there less than a week.

Julie

The smell of cedar wood is spot on for C. violaceous which I guess confirms your id. (I mistakenly said sandalwood in a post on another thread, but many authors say cedar wood.)

juliejam · #10 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leif

The smell of cedar wood is spot on for C. violaceous which I guess confirms your id. (I mistakenly said sandalwood in a post on another thread, but many authors say cedar wood.)

Thats another one confirmed ..thanx for that ...

Julie

paulchandler6 · #11 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 08:31 PM

That is one of my "must finds" of the fungi world. Such a brilliant colour. One day

Paul

Fungus Ken · #12 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juliejam

Thats another one confirmed ..thanx for that ...

Julie

No it aint.

This is not Cortinarius violaceus. Cortinarius is a genus that is very difficult to identify to species because often subtle macroscopic differences are used to separate them.

Cortinarius violaceus always has a tomentose cap, often with distinct tufts, unlike the specimen in the photo which has a smooth cap. This is not a feature that washes away or can be lost. All you have to do is google images of Cortinarius violaceus to see the typical texture of the cap surface. The specimens in the photo could not be mistaken for Cortinarius violaceus by anyone who has any familiarity with the species ... but since it's very uncommon to say the least, not many people will be familiar with it.

The difficulty we are faced with here is that we don't know the spore colour so it is easy to fall into completely the wrong genus. Lepista nuda would have a pinkish spore print while Cortinarius would have a rust brown spore print. This is a character you can easily resolve at home with a spore print but it is also often possible to work this out in the field if you look at the gills of a mature specimen with a hand lens - you can see little patches of powder which are collections of ripe spores. Without this information you are almost working blind.

In mature specimens of Cortinarius you often see evidence of the rusty spores trapped in remains of the cortina ie partial veil on the stem or edge of the cap. I can't see any evidence of a cortina on the stem or edge of the cap of the mature specimen so I am not even convinced it is a Cortinarius. My gut feeling is that this is likely to have been very fresh specimens of Lepista nuda, as Leif suggested but was talked out of.

Lepista nuda often has a perfumy smell when fresh, which could be mistaken for other smells. There aren't any Cortinarius species that spring to mind that would be as distinctive as the species in the photo.

But without the spore colour it can only be a hunch.

Ken

Leif · #13 (**permalink**) 29-10-2007, 11:39 PM

I dug out one of my photos of C. violaceous taken 6 years ago:

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...ceousFrame.jpg

It shows the features, including the scurfy cap, and the stem which has a typically bulbous base. However, I only know this species from one site.

Making an id via a photo is far harder than from the original specimen with decent collecting notes.

juliejam · #14 (**permalink**) 30-10-2007, 08:31 AM

Thanx Ken for clearing that one up...never mind more Wood Blewit's for me ...for the time being..I'll just keep looking..

Julie

sweet rocket · #15 (**permalink**) 03-10-2011, 04:10 PM

Hi julie
I uploaded a pic into forum images

I'm fairly sure its cortinarius violaceus,at least Ken Burgess on the forum thought so too. It was a dark intense colour and almost like rough velvet texture on the cap. Its a beautiful fungus

NickCantle · #16 (**permalink**) 03-10-2011, 06:23 PM

That's one hell of a necropost

4 years ago

sweet rocket · #17 (**permalink**) 03-10-2011, 06:57 PM

sorry folks. I'm new to this. Didnt notice the date. How did I find something so old on the forum?

NickCantle · #18 (**permalink**) 04-10-2011, 08:14 PM

It wasn't a dig, I just found it amusing!

Amusement gets rid of jealousy

Been after that damn species for years.

sweet rocket · #19 (**permalink**) 04-10-2011, 11:22 PM

Although I'm new to WAB, I've been watching a patch of violet web cap for about 5 years. The area is in heavy shade and generally damp. The fruiting bodies are in 6" high sparse, shade loving, blue/green grass. Nearby trees are aspen and birch There are lots of aspen roots near the surface. Perhaps a mycorrhizal association. No great show this year, and no, I didn't pick the only one. I took the picture in a good year when there were many! August/ September seems to be the best time to find them.
We've had two extremely severe winters and the weather has been poor all summer. Probably been too cool. Just wrong conditions I'm hoping.

Happy hunting anyway Nick