Petrichor
Usually thought of as rare in the UK, this unassuming beauty is having a wonderful year, with 2 new spots near me already!
This beautiful pointy hatted pixie is a member of the genus Cortinarius, our biggest mushroom genus - and the reason it has such a bad name among the foraging community.
This species and its close relatives contain Orellanine, a toxin which causes often irreversible kidney failure. While some people have gastric symptoms in the early days after their consumption, many have no real symptoms at all until they present with end stage renal failure after up to 2 weeks.
In contemporary times this is usually managed and treated with dialysis and transplants, but should be considered fatal, as it would be without these treatments. Despite being a rarity in the genus Cortinarius in that it is fairly easy to identify just from visible characteristics, it has over the years been eaten a fair few times, being mistaken for everything from Cep, through multiple types of Chanterelle, and even Psil0cybe species.
With it's striking orange-red all over colouring, sturdy stature, pointed cap and gorgeous paler orange chevrons that shift like a hologram in the sunlight, we think that despite it's toxicity - Cortinarius rubellus (aka Deadly webcap) Is a genuinely beautiful mushroom, and one that still makes us squeal with joy when we come across it wandering though the conifers.
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