Contents
The red-olive cobweb belongs to the Spider web family. In the common people, it is customary to call it fragrant or smelling cobweb. The Latin name is Cortinarius rufoolivaceus.
Description of the cobweb red-olive
The mushroom has a relatively small size and a thin leg with a distinctive feature: a cobweb cover. The cap of the fruiting body is slimy.
Cap Description
The cap of the fungus reaches 7 cm in diameter. As it grows, it changes: in young red-olive cobwebs, it is hemispherical, then gradually becomes convex. Adult fruiting bodies have a flat cap. Its color scheme is diverse, as it grows, it changes from purple to red, while maintaining the same shade. In the middle, the hat is lilac-purple or reddish hue of varying intensity.
In older specimens, the cap is pink at the edges due to burnout.
The hymenophore of the red-olive cobwebs is in the form of plates that have a descending or serrated-grown shape. In young fruiting bodies, they are olive or purple, as they ripen, they become brown in color.
Spores are dark reddish, oval in shape, small in size with a warty surface. The sizes vary within 12-14*7 microns.
Description of the leg
The maximum dimensions of the legs in adult specimens are 11 * 1,8 cm. It is cylindrical in shape, the base is expanded, and has a reddish tint. The rest of the leg is purple in color. Its surface is smooth.
The length of the legs in this species reaches 5-7 cm
Where and how to grow
This species is widespread in Europe, preferring mixed or broad-leaved forest plantations.
Due to its ability to form mycorrhiza with trees, it occurs naturally in large groups. It often grows under oaks, beeches or hornbeams.
In Our Country, the red-olive cobweb is harvested in the Belgorod and Penza regions, it also grows in Tatarstan and Krasnodar. There are specimens in places where calcareous soil, moderately warm climatic conditions.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
The nutritional properties of the species are practically not studied, but it belongs to the category of conditionally edible. The flesh is bitter, olive-greenish or pale purple. Mushrooms do not have a special flavor. It is recommended to eat fried.
Twins and their differences
Outwardly, fruiting bodies with icteric cobwebs have an external resemblance: the hat of the latter is brown with a pink or orange tint. But the twin has purple plates and legs, and the flesh is bitter.
The double is conditionally edible, but due to its low taste it does not represent nutritional value.
Conclusion
The red-olive cobweb is a mushroom listed in the Red Book. It is conditionally edible, but is practically not used for food, since its flesh is bitter. It occurs in coniferous-deciduous forests from mid-summer to October.
