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spotted cort mushroom

spotted cort mushroom (Cortinarius iodes)
Photo © Hank Guarisco

Features and Behaviors

FEATURES
The cap is purple and develops yellow spots and streaks that fade to tan with age. Its width at maturity is approximately one and one-fourth to slightly under two and one-half inches. The cap is broadly convex or bell-shaped. The cap and stem are slimy. The gills are purple or lilac when young and turn brown with age. A cortina, a protective covering over the immature spore-producing structures that looks somewhat like a cobweb, is present. The spore print is rust-brown. The stem is approximately one and one-fourth to slightly under two and one-half inches tall. The stem can be various shades of purple and white.

BEHAVIORS
This species grows in forests in a mutually beneficial relationship with the rootlets of oak trees. The mushroom’s mycelium surrounds the rootlets with a sheath and helps the tree absorb water and nutrients. The mushroom is provided with food and amino acids produced by the tree. Fruiting bodies may grow singly or in clusters. They appear in summer and fall.

Illinois Range

Taxonomy

​Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Cortinariaceae

Illinois Status: common, native