Cortinarius pinguis
Brittonia 10: 211. 1958.
Common Name: none
Synonym: Thaxterogaster pinguis (Zeller) Singer & A. H. Smith; Secotium pinque Zeller
For description see Singer & Smith, Zeller, & 'California Mushrooms'.
Solitary to scattered in soil, often buried in duff in high-elevation pine-fir forests; uncommon, fruiting from spring to early fall in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges.
Unknown.
Cortinarius pinguis is characterized by a cap margin that remains fused to the stipe apex or only partially pulls away at maturity, and “gills” that are reduced to irregularly shaped chambers. The white or purple-tinged stipe ranges from poorly developed and enclosed within the cap, to well developed, although fruitbodies often remain buried under duff. Morphological and molecular data clearly indicate that it belongs in Cortinarius, where it is closely related to C. collinitus and C. mucosus. It is somewhat similar to Pholiota nubigenum, which occurs in the same habitat, but the latter grows on woody debris and has a cream-colored cap and dark reddish brown spores.
Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
Peintner, U., Bougher, N.L., Castellano, M.A., Moncalvo, J.-M. , Moser, M., Trappe, J.M. & Vilgalys, R. (2001). Multiple Origins of Sequestrate Fungi Related to Cortinarius (Cortinariaceae). American Journal of Botany 88(12): 2168-2179.
Peintner, U., Moser, M. & Vilgalys, R. (2002). Thaxterogaster is a taxonomic synonym of Cortinarius: new combinations and new names. Mycotaxon 81: 177-184.
Singer, R. & Smith, A.H. (1958). Studies on secotiaceous fungi I: A monograph of the genus Thaxterogaster. Brittonia 10: 201-216. (PDF)
Trappe, J.M., Molina, R., Luoma, D.L., Cázares, E., Pilz, D., Smith, J., Castellano, M.A., Miller, S.L. & Trappe, M.J. (2009). Diversity, Ecology, and Conservation of Truffle Fungi in Forests of the Pacific Northwest. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station: Portland, OR. 194 p. (PDF)
Zeller, S.M. (1941). Further notes on fungi. Mycologia 33: 196-214. (Protologue)
