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Goatcheese webcap or Orange webcap

How they differ, how to recognize them and which is more dangerous — a mushroom comparison

The short answer

Goatcheese webcap and Orange webcap are similar species that can be mixed up while foraging. The main visible difference: cap color: Goatcheese webcap — violet, brown, grey, Orange webcap — brown, dark brown. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: cap surface, smell, stem.

Orange webcap (Cortinarius mucosus)

Orange webcap

Cortinarius mucosus

InedibleExpert-verified

📊 Comparing characteristics

Comparison of characteristics: Goatcheese webcap and Orange webcap
Edibility class

Goatcheese webcap

Inedible

Orange webcap

Inedible
Season

Goatcheese webcap

SummerAutumn

Orange webcap

SummerAutumn
Use

Goatcheese webcap

Not eaten

Orange webcap

Not eaten
Size

Goatcheese webcap

Medium (5–15 cm)

Orange webcap

Medium (5–15 cm)
Cap color

Goatcheese webcap

VioletBrownGrey

Orange webcap

BrownDark brown
Cap shape

Goatcheese webcap

Convex

Orange webcap

Convex
Cap surface

Goatcheese webcap

Smooth

Orange webcap

Slimy
Taste

Goatcheese webcap

Unknown

Orange webcap

Unknown
Smell

Goatcheese webcap

Chemical

Orange webcap

Odorless
Flesh color change

Goatcheese webcap

No change

Orange webcap

No change
Hymenophore

Goatcheese webcap

Gilled

Orange webcap

Gilled
Stem

Goatcheese webcap

Bulbous

Orange webcap

Central
Ring (veil)

Goatcheese webcap

Ring remnants

Orange webcap

Ring remnants
Volva

Goatcheese webcap

No volva

Orange webcap

No volva
Substrate

Goatcheese webcap

Soil

Orange webcap

Soil
Nutrition type

Goatcheese webcap

Mycorrhizal

Orange webcap

Mycorrhizal
Partner trees

Goatcheese webcap

SprucePineBeech

Orange webcap

Pine

📅 Seasonality

Goatcheese webcap

Fruiting season

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

August – October

Orange webcap

Fruiting season

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

August – October

🔬 Morphology

Cap

Goatcheese webcap

The cap is 4-9 cm across, hemispherical to conical-convex in young mushrooms, becoming convex-flat with a noticeable low umbo over time. The color is grayish-lilac, lilac-brown, with a violet tint when young, fading to grayish-ochre with age. The surface is smooth, slightly slimy in wet weather. The cap margin is thin, with fine radial fibers.

Orange webcap

The cap is 5-10 cm across, hemispherical with an inrolled margin in young mushrooms, becoming convex to flat over time. The color is chestnut-brown, honey-brown, darker in the center, paler at the margin. The surface is very slimy in wet weather — a hallmark of the species. The cap skin peels off easily, as in a slippery jack. In dry weather the cap is simply shiny, without noticeable slime.

Hymenophore

Goatcheese webcap

The hymenophore is gilled — the gills are attached to the stem and moderately crowded. In young mushrooms they are lilac, mauve-gray, later turning rusty brown as the spores ripen. The spore print is rusty brown — a diagnostic feature of the genus Cortinarius. In young mushrooms the gills are covered by a cobwebby partial veil (the cortina) — a characteristic feature of the genus.

Orange webcap

The hymenophore is gilled — the gills are attached to the stem and moderately crowded. In young mushrooms they are pale cream to pale ochre, later turning rusty brown as the spores ripen. The spore print is rusty brown — a diagnostic feature of the genus Cortinarius. In young mushrooms the gills are covered by a cobwebby partial veil (the cortina).

Stem

Goatcheese webcap

The stem is 5-10 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical, with a bulbous swelling at the base. The color is lilac to violet in the upper part, paler to whitish lower down. The surface has fine lilac fibers. On the stem, remnants of the cobwebby cortina — noticeable in young mushrooms, disappearing in older ones and leaving a thin band of rusty-brown spores on the stem.

Orange webcap

The stem is 6-12 cm tall, 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical, long, often tapering toward the base. The color is whitish to cream, with reddish tints toward the base. The surface is smooth, slimy in the upper part, with fine lengthwise fibers. On the stem, remnants of the cobwebby cortina form a thin band dusted with rusty-brown spores.

Flesh

Goatcheese webcap

The flesh is firm, white to pale lilac. When cut it does not change color. The smell is strong and sickly, camphor-like, with a note of raw potato or rancid cheese — its most characteristic diagnostic feature. The taste is mild, but given the smell it's not worth trying.

Orange webcap

The flesh is firm, white to cream. When cut it does not change color. The smell is faint and neutral, with no distinctive notes.

Smell

Goatcheese webcap

Strong sickly camphor-and-potato smell, with a note of rancid cheese or a damp cellar. You can catch it from a distance. It opens up when you rub the flesh. This is the most reliable diagnostic feature of the species — few other webcaps have such a pungent smell.

Orange webcap

Faint, neutral, mushroomy, with no pronounced notes.

📍 Habitats

Goatcheese webcap

Conifer forestMixed forest

Orange webcap

Conifer forestMixed forest

👀 Similar mushrooms — don't mix them up!

❓ Frequently asked questions

Can Goatcheese webcap and Orange webcap be mixed up?
Yes, they look so similar that people often mix them up. The cap color, cap surface, smell help tell them apart.
How to tell Goatcheese webcap from Orange webcap?
The main differences: cap color: Goatcheese webcap — violet, brown, grey, Orange webcap — brown, dark brown; cap surface: Goatcheese webcap — smooth, Orange webcap — slimy; smell: Goatcheese webcap — chemical, Orange webcap — odorless. The full table of characteristics is higher up on this page.
Is Orange webcap edible?
Orange webcap — inedible.
When do Goatcheese webcap and Orange webcap grow?
Goatcheese webcap — August–October; Orange webcap — August–October. Their seasons overlap, so be especially careful.

Sources

  • [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
  • [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
  • [3]MycoBank Database
  • [4]Index Fungorum
  • [5]GBIF
  • [6]iNaturalist Ukraine