How to tell Cortinarius esculentus from Fool's webcap

The cap of Cortinarius esculentus is small — from 3 to 7 centimeters across. When young it is convex to bell-shaped with an inrolled margin, opening out flat with age. The surface is smooth or finely fibrous, dry or slightly moist. The color is brown, yellowish-brown or clay-tan, darker in the center. Its modest brown color makes the mushroom inconspicuous and easy to confuse with other webcaps.

Cap 3-8 cm across, hemispherical to conical-convex in young mushrooms, later becoming convex to flat with a low umbo. Color orange-red, fiery orange, russet-orange, darker in the center, paler at the margin. Surface velvety and dryish, microscopically scaly, not slimy. The cap margin is thin, with fine radial fibers in young mushrooms.

The hymenophore is gilled. The gills are attached to the stem, fairly crowded, pale at first — clay-colored or pale brown — and take on a rusty-brown, brown tint from the spores as they mature. When young they are covered by a cobwebby veil (cortina), whose remnants settle on the stem. The spore print is rusty brown. Rusty gills and a cortina are the hallmarks of the webcaps.

Gills — attached to the stem, widely spaced, broad. In young mushrooms russet-orange, darkening over time to rusty brown as the spore powder ripens. Spore print rusty brown — a diagnostic feature of the genus Cortinarius. In young mushrooms the gills are covered by a cobweb-like partial veil (cortina).

The stem is cylindrical, 4 to 8 centimeters tall, whitish or pale brown, often with a fibrous band in the upper part — a trace of the cortina, on which rusty spore dust settles. There is no true ring. There is no volva. The surface is lengthwise fibrous.

Stem 4-9 cm tall, 0.7-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, long, relatively slender, often thickening toward the base. Color yellow-orange to yellow, paler toward the base. The surface has fine lengthwise fibers. Remnants of the cobwebby cortina on the stem form a thin band with rusty-brown spores that have settled on the veil remnant.

The flesh is whitish or pale brown and barely changes color when cut. The taste is mild, with no noticeable bitterness. Because this mushroom belongs to the treacherous webcap genus, the flesh is not a reliable guide: identifying it by taste or appearance alone is dangerous, so at the slightest doubt it is not eaten.

Flesh firm, orange-yellow to brownish yellow. When cut, it does not change color. Smell faint, neutral; in some populations with a hint of radish. Taste mild, indistinct (do NOT taste it — even a small amount of toxin is dangerous).

The smell is faint, mushroomy, with no sharp notes. The aroma is not a reliable feature for a safe identification. The mushroom is recognized by its brown cap, rusty gills with a cortina and banded stem, yet even these features demand a great deal of experience because of the risk of confusing it with deadly relatives.

Faint and neutral, with no distinctive notes. The smell is NOT a warning sign — the mushroom smells neutral, which makes it even more treacherous.