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Cortinarius gentilis
Species of fungus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cortinarius gentilis is a fungus of the subgenus Telamonia, normally found in North America and Europe.
Previously reported to be a poisonous species, a 2003 Finnish study tested negative for toxicity.
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Description
The cap is bright tan, umbonate, and 1–5 centimetres (1⁄2–2 in) wide.[2] The flesh is tan, with an odour of raw potatoes.[3] The stem is up to 10 cm (4 in) long,[2] resembles a root, and has yellow veil remnants near the bottom.[3] The gills are distant, similarly coloured to the cap but sometimes reddish with age.[3] The spore print is rusty-brown.[2]
Habitat and distribution
It can be found growing separate or in groups in moss under conifer trees. It can be found in North America's Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains.[2]
Alleged toxicity
In the 20th century, C. gentilis was considered poisonous in Finnish mycological publications[4] (and deadly by mycologist David Arora).[2] It was reported to belong to subgenus Leprocybe and to contain the toxin orellanine, but these details have since been disputed.[3]
The claim of toxicity primarily stemmed from a study by Möttönen et al. (1975) and a case study by Hulmi et al. (1975). When a specimen from the former study was reexamined, it turned out to be labelled as the highly toxic C. speciosissimus. The authors of a 2003 study analysed 28 Finnish samples of the species. An unspecific cell culture toxicity test and a feeding test on mice revealed no signs of toxicity.[5]
References
External links
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