Fool's webcap
Cortinarius orellanus · Webcaps (Cortinarius)
Deadly poisonous
Deadly poisonous. The toxin destroys the kidneys – treacherous, because the first symptoms only appear days later, when nobody thinks of mushrooms any more.
Recognise it safely – what matters
- Orange-foxy colour everywhere, rust-brown gills
- Cobweb-like veil instead of a ring
- Symptoms only after days – never "try out" mushrooms
Features
- Cap
- 3–8 cm, orange to foxy red-brown, dry, finely felty to finely scaly.
- Underside
- Gills: thick, distant, orange to rust brown.
- Stem
- Yellowish orange, fibrous, without a bulb; with a cobweb-like veil when young.
- Flesh
- Yellowish
- Smell
- Slightly of radish
- Spore print
- Rust brown
Season
JFMAMJJASOND
Habitat
Warm broadleaf forests on acidic soils, especially under oak and beech.
Oak, Beech
Risk of confusion
Gypsy Mushroom Edible species The gypsy mushroom belongs to the same genus but has a whitish frosted cap and a true ring on the stem.
Chanterelle Edible species Chanterelles have no gills but low ridges, and no rust-brown spore print.
If someone has eaten it
Intense thirst, headache and aching limbs, nausea, later little or no urine – up to kidney failure. First symptoms: usually 2–14 days, rarely up to 3 weeks after eating.
Act immediately – even without symptoms:
- Emergency number 112 if someone feels unwell.
- Poison centre: Germany – area code of the nearest city with a poison centre + 19240 (e.g. Berlin 030 19240, Munich 089 19240) · Austria +43 1 406 43 43 · Switzerland 145.
- Keep leftovers, trimmings or vomit – it helps with identification.
Never identify mushrooms by pictures or an app alone. When in doubt, ask a mushroom expert – and only pick what you know for sure.