R. Fraley

Mucous Cort

(Cortinarius mucosus)

Mucous Cort beneath Red Pines
Mucous Cort beneath Red Pines
The Mucous Cort is a striking conifer associate—its entire surface cloaked in a glutinous layer that gives it an unmistakable sheen. Found beneath Red Pines, this species thrives in the acidic litter where few others fruit.
Size: 5309×3539

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mk IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 2000 • Aperture f/4.5 • Shutter 1/500 s

Mature Mucous Cort beneath Red Pines
Mature Mucous Cort beneath Red Pines
A late-season Cortinarius emerging from the pine duff.
The reddish-brown cap has dried and split slightly, revealing the dense gills beneath. The species’ name “Mucous Cort” recalls its slimy youth.
Size: 4170x2780

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mk IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 4000 • Aperture f/4.5 • Shutter 1/250 s

Paired Mucous Cort mushrooms
Paired Mucous Cort Mushrooms
Two fruiting bodies in the Red Pine understory.
Beneath the needles, their purple-tinted caps and crowded gills rise through filtered light — remnants of a brief, glutinous emergence.
Size: 4170x2780

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mk IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 4000 • Aperture f/5.0 • Shutter 1/250 s

Habitat: Beneath Red Pines
Cap: Slimy, glossy, amber to cinnamon-brown, darker toward the center
Gills: Pale at first, becoming rusty-brown as spores mature
Stem: Coated in transparent slime; pale beneath, narrowing toward the base
Spore print: Rusty-brown
Flesh: Pale yellowish, staining brownish when cut or bruised

A mushroom that looks wet even when the forest floor is dry.

Field Story

When first found beneath the Red Pines, these mushrooms looked like Slimespikes—slender, brown-capped, and glistening in the dim light. But touching them revealed an even thicker slime coat than Gomphidius, a clue that shifted the ID toward Cortinarius.

Mature Mucous Cort with heavy slime
Mature Mucous Cort with heavy slime
The cap and stem remain coated with slime even in dry air. As the spores mature, the gills darken to rusty-brown and the flesh turns yellowish-brown when cut—a hallmark of Cortinarius mucosus. • Size: 5309×3539

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mk IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 2000 • Aperture f/4.5 • Shutter 1/500 s

Observations

  • Cap Color: Amber to chestnut-brown, strongly glutinous
  • Flesh: Pale, turning yellow-brown when cut
  • Odor: Earthy, faintly sweet or resinous
  • Spore Print: Rusty-brown
  • Taste: Mild to earthy (not tested further)

Spore Print

Spore Print
Spore Print
A soft, rusty spore print left by the Mucous Cort (Cortinarius mucosus). Its color—neither pale cream nor dark brown—marks it as a true Cortinarius. Under the Red Pines, it leaves a cinnamon shadow, quiet proof of the pine–fungus bond beneath the soil.

Some identifications don’t come from color or cap, but from where your boots sink into the needles.

References

  • National Audubon Society: Mushrooms of North America (April 2023)
  • Personal field notes, Lakeville MN (2025)
  • Observations compared with Cortinarius mucosus and C. anomalus
  • Comparative notes with Gomphidius glutinosus (Slimespike) collected under Red Pines in the same region