Superb cobweb (Cortinarius praestans) photo and description

Superb cobweb (Cortinarius praestans)

Superb Cobweb (Cortinarius praestans) is a fungus belonging to the Spider web family.

The fruiting body of an excellent cobweb is lamellar, consists of a cap and a stem. On the surface of the fungus, you can see the remnants of the cobweb bedspread.

The diameter of the cap can reach 10-20 cm, and its shape in young mushrooms is hemispherical. As the fruiting bodies ripen, the cap opens to a convex, flat, and sometimes even slightly depressed. The surface of the mushroom cap is fibrous and velvety to the touch; in mature mushrooms, its edge becomes pronouncedly wrinkled. In immature fruit bodies, the color is close to purple, while in ripe ones it becomes red-brown and even wine. At the same time, a purple tint is preserved along the edges of the cap.

The hymenophore of the fungus is represented by plates located on the back of the cap and adhering with their notches to the surface of the stem. The color of these plates in young mushrooms is grayish, and in mature ones it is beige-brown. The plates contain a rusty-brown spore powder, consisting of almond-shaped spores with a warty surface.

The length of the leg of the excellent cobweb varies between 10-14 cm, and the thickness is 2-5 cm. At the base, a thickening of the tuberous shape is clearly visible on it, and the remains of cortina are clearly visible on the surface. The color of the stem in immature cobwebs of excellent is represented by a pale purple hue, and in ripe fruiting bodies of this species it is pale ocher or whitish.

The pulp of the fungus is characterized by a pleasant aroma and taste; upon contact with alkaline products, it acquires a brown color. In general, it has a white, sometimes bluish color.

The superb cobweb (Cortinarius praestans) is widely distributed in the nemoral areas of Europe, but is rare there. Some European countries even included this type of mushroom in the Red Book as rare and endangered. The fungus of this species grows in large groups, lives in mixed and deciduous forests. Can form mycorrhiza with beech or other deciduous trees growing in the forest. It often settles near birch trees, begins to bear fruit in August and gives good harvests throughout September.

Superb cobweb (Cortinarius praestans) is an edible but little-studied mushroom. It can be dried, and also eaten salted or pickled.

The excellent cobweb (Cortinarius praestans) has one similar species – the watery blue cobweb. True, in the latter, the hat has a bluish-gray color and a smooth edge, covered with a cobweb cortina.