How to tell Birch webcap from Fool's webcap

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 cap of the birch webcap is large — 5 to 12 centimeters across. When young it is hemispherical with an inrolled margin; with age it opens to convex and flat. The surface is slimy and sticky in wet weather and glossy when dry. The color is golden-ochre, yellow-brown or honey-yellow, darker in the center and lighter at the edge, often with flattened fibers from the veil.

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 spore-bearing surface is made of gills. The gills are attached to the stem and fairly crowded, pale at first — cream or pale clay — and turning rusty-brown, brown from the spores as they mature. In young mushrooms they are covered by a cobweb-like veil (cortina), whose remnants settle on the stem as a brown band. The spore print is rusty-brown. Rusty gills and a cortina are the hallmarks of the webcap genus.

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 stem is sturdy, cylindrical or club-shaped, 7 to 15 centimeters tall, whitish or pale yellow. Its defining feature is several yellowish-brown bands in the lower part, left over from the veil, and a rusty-brown band from the cortina near the top, where spore dust collects. There is no true ring. There is no volva.

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 flesh is whitish or pale yellow and firm, and barely changes color when cut. The taste is mild or slightly bitter. Because the mushroom belongs to the treacherous webcap genus, the flesh is no reliable guide: identifying it by taste or looks alone is dangerous, so at the slightest doubt, don't eat it.

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

The smell is faint, pleasant and mushroomy, with no sharp notes. Scent is not a reliable feature for safe identification. The mushroom is recognized by its slimy golden cap, rusty gills with a cortina, banded stem and association with birch — but even these features demand a great deal of experience.