Phlegmacium cruentipellis

Phlegmacium cruentipellis is a rare species of agaric fungus in the family Cortinariaceae.

Taxonomy
It was originally described in 2014 by the mycologists Ilkka Kytövuori, Kare Liimatainen, Tuula Niskanen and Balint Dima who classified it as Cortinarius cruentipellis. It was placed in the (subgenus Phlegmacium) of the large mushroom genus Cortinarius.

In 2022 the species was transferred from Cortinarius and reclassified as Phlegmacium cruentipellis based on genomic data.

Description
The cap of the mushroom is hemispherical to convex, measuring 3 – in diameter. It is yellowish brown in the center, becoming more yellow towards the cap margin.

Etymology
The specific epithet cruentipellis refers the blood red droplets in the cap cuticle.

Habitat and distribution
It is found in northern Europe—Estonia, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden—where it grows on the ground in temperate and hemiboreal forests dominated by hazel and oak trees, and also in wooded pastures and parks.