Scanning electron micrographs of spores. (a) Cortinarius austrocinnabarinus (MEL 2089672), (b) C. cramesinus (ZT 68/321, holotype). Scale bar = 2 μm. 

Context in source publication

Context 1

... forming fine to moderately coarse longitudinal aggregations, occasionally forming distinct subdowny bands, or a dense subdowny covering over large areas of the stipe surface of young specimens, otherwise aggregations becoming more dense on mid stipe, forming distinct bands or zones, often becoming more coarse on lower stipe; base with fine yellowish or pinkish orange downy covering, grading into coarser basal mycelium with bright orange rhizomorphs. Context in pileus, to 4 mm deep; pallid yellowish brown in disc area, more orange brown towards edge; in stipe, pallid pale yellowish orange to yellowish brown. Odour weakly spicy or chemical. Chemical reactions 3% KOH on pileus, rapid, strong, deep purple; on stipe, rapid, strong, purple; lamellae tissue in KOH solution leaching faint yellow to yellowish brown pigment. (Fig. 2a) Basidiospores [285/12] 5.5–7.5(–8.5) × 4–6 μm, mean 6.27–7.36 × 4.67–5.45 μm (grand mean 6.74 × 4.93 μm), Q = (1.09–)1.25–1.56(-1.78), mean Q = 1.22–1.52 (grand mean 1.37), broadly ellipsoid to ellipsoid, occasionally elongate, amygdaliform or broadly amygdaliform; yellow-brown; ornamentation finely to moderately verrucose, the verrucae sparse to moderately dense, under SEM verrucae isolated and relatively rounded. Basidia 27–37 × 6.5–7.5(–9) μm, clavate, four or rarely two-spored, sterigmata to 4 μm long. Cheilocystidia and Pleurocystidia not present. Lamellar trama regular. Pileipellis a cutis or trichoderm consisting of repent, and often also some loosely interwoven and ascending, cylindrical, encrusted hyphae 4–8 μm diam., with yellow intracellular pigment (in KOH releasing bright purple pigment); with a differentiated subcellular subpellis, consisting of broader, short hyphae to 32 μm diam., with amorphous bright orange intercellular pigment masses (in KOH wine red). Clamp connections present in all tissues. (Figs 3a, 4a) Habitat : Gregarious or often caespitose on soil in Eucalyptus dominated forest, often including Leptospermum spp. Coloured illustrations : The following cited illustrations are likely to represent Cortinarius austrocinnabarinus : Cole et al . (1978: pl. 2, as C. cinnabarinus [photo is by Fuhrer]), Fuhrer (1985: p. 33, as C. aff. c innabarinus ; 1993: p. 33, as D. cramesina [see errata slip]; 2001: p. 33, as D. cramesina ; 2005: p. 61, as D. cramesina ), Gill (1995: p. 2, as Dermocybe sp. Watling 19352 [photo is by Fuhrer, but not a photograph of this particular collection]) and McCann (2003: p. 21, as D. cramesina ). In the illustration of C. cinnabarinus in Willis (1963: pl. 9) the pileus is a little too red, and the uniform deep reddish orange colour of the stipe is also not consistent with C. austrocinnabarinus . Voucher material specific to particular illustrations is not available to confirm identification, but note that several Fuhrer collections at MEL originally determined as C. cinnabarinus or D. cramesina are listed above under ‘Specimens examined. Notes : Among Australian species of Cortinarius subgenus Dermocybe and other Dermocybe -like members of Cortinarius (see Jones 2003), Cortinarius austrocinnabarinus is characterised by the strong orange-red colour to the pileus, that often fades to pastel orange-red on the outer pileus at maturity, and the relatively small spores that are broadly ellipsoid to ellipsoid. The habit is often caespitose, and there are characteristically distinct bands or zones of coarse, orange-red veil remnants on the mid to lower stipe. Young basidiomes can be relatively squat, with the unexpanded pileus seated on a short, broad stipe. A unique feature associated with this taxon is the brownish orange colouration remaining on fingertips after the handling of basidiomes. In addition to the distinct differences between pigment profiles for C. austrocinnabarinus and C. cramesinus discussed above, C. austrocinnabarinus can be distinguished from C. cramesinus by the pilei of C. austrocinnabarinus often developing a washed- out orange colour by maturity, whereas the orange colour in pilei of C. cramesinus is less intense at maturity, and is usually restricted to the margin of an often browner coloured pileus. Dried material of C. austrocinnabarinus retains a strong orange colouration in the pileus, whereas dried material of C. cramesinus is a dark vinaceous brown without orange tints to the pileus. The orange red veil remnants of C. austrocinnabarinus usually form coarser longitudinal and band-like aggregations on the stipe than do those of C. cramesinus , which has a pinkish basal mycelium (remaining visible in dried material) rather than the orange red mycelium of C. austrocinnabarinus . Spores of C. cramesinus are about the same length as those of C. austrocinnabarinus , but are slightly narrower, and hence tend to be more often elongate than ellipsoid. Under SEM the verrucae of C. austrocinnabarinus are relatively rounded and isolated , whereas verrucae of C. cramesinus are more irregular in shape, with some interconnections (Fig. 3). The identity of material from which austrocorticin and related pigments were isolated by Gill and Giménez (1988) has been confirmed as C. austrocinnabarinus by examination of the voucher material cited therein (collected from the type locality). The principal anthraquinones of C. austrocinnabarinus are austrocorticin, austrocorticinic acid and austrocorticone (Gill 1995). These compounds are the only naturally occurring quinones of the emodin/ endcocrocin type that have a two carbon side chain at the position C3. They are unique among anthraquinones from Cortinarius in having a propionate-triggered octaketide assembly (Gill & Giménez 1988). The pileus colour of Cortinarius austrocinnabarinus is similar to the dark cinnabar-red to scarlet colouration of the European C. cinnabarinus , and the two species also share the presence of a subcellular subpellis (Høiland 1983). However, the latter species differs in the hygrophanous pileus and the larger spores up to 10 μm long (Høiland 1983), and in containing different major pigments, such as cinnarubin and fallacinol (Keller 1982), reflected in the different pigment profile (Fig. 1a). The North American counterpart of C. cinnabarinus is C. californicus , which differs from C. austrocinnabarinus by the reddish brown or dark reddish orange pileus that is hygrophanous, the longer spores, (7.4–)8–9.5(–11) μm, the association with conifers (Ammirati 1989), and in having cinnarubin as its major pigment (Keller & Ammirati 1983). Cortinarius hesleri Ammirati & A.H.Sm. nom. prov ., a name used for a collection from North America similar to C. californicus , but associated with broad-leaved trees (Phillips 1991), also has cinnarubin as the major pigment (Keller & Ammirati 1983). BASIONYM: Dermocybe cramesina E.Horak Sydowia 40: 87 (1988). In consideration of the perceived immaturity of the single collection on which the protologue is based, the following description is derived from characters of Australian collections, unless otherwise indicated. Pileus to 50 mm diam., hemispherical or obtusely conical when young, becoming convex to plano- convex, occasionally with slightly undulating edge at maturity; orange red to brownish red 8(B–D)(6–7), sometimes more orange 7B7, edge often brighter orange (7–8)A(5–7); surface dry; felty fibrillose when young, becoming more radially fibrillose, often with fine radial aggregations of veil remnants, sometimes with minute appressed scales on mature specimens; rarely subhygrophanous, not translucent-striate; margin straight or occasionally inflexed, entire or occasionally finely rimose at maturity. Lamellae sinuate to narrowly adnate; to 5 mm deep; brownish orange (5–6)(B–C)(6– 8); edge entire, rarely finely eroded towards distal part. Stipe to 80 mm long, to 8 mm diam. at middle, to 11 mm diam. at widest part, cylindrical or slightly attenuated upwards, often with finely subbulbous base; pale or light orange (5–6)A(3–4) upper stipe, to orange red (7–8)A(5–7) or sometimes more vivid (8–9)A(7–8) on lower stipe; surface dry; finely longitudinally fibrillose; cortina remnants sometimes forming an indistinct rusty brown band near stipe apex of younger specimens, not apparent on more mature specimens; orange red or brownish red veil remnants forming fine longitudinal to sublongitudinal aggregations, sometimes forming an indistinct band on upper to mid stipe, rarely with less distinct bands below, aggregations usually becoming denser and more arachnoid on lower stipe; basal area usually with pale pink or orange pink downy covering; basal mycelium orange pink. Context in pileus, to 2 mm deep, pallid yellow brown; in stipe, pallid yellow brown. Chemical reactions 3% KOH on pileus, rapid, strong, blackish purple; on stipe, rapid, strong, reddish purple; lamellae tissue in KOH solution leaching faint light brown pigment. (Fig. 2b) Basidiospores [120/6] 5.5–8.5(–10) × 3.5-5.5 μm, mean 5.80–8.15 × 3.90–4.90 μm (grand mean 7.36 × 4.53 μm), Q = (1.38–)1.44–1.80(–2.00), mean = 1.49– 1.68 (grand mean 1.62) [in the type, 6–7.5 × 4–5 μm, Q = 1.44–1.56(-1.67) μm, mean = 6.7 × 4.5, mean Q = 1.49], ellipsoid to elongate, narrowly amygdaliform to amygdaliform; yellow-brown; ornamentation finely verrucose, verrucae moderately dense to dense, under SEM the verrucae are irregular in shape and show some interconnections. Basidia 27–32 × 6–7.5 μm, narrowly clavate, four-spored, sterigmata to 5 μm long. Cheilocystidia and Pleurocystidia not present. Lamellar trama regular. Pileipellis a cutis or trichoderm consisting of repent or ascending (and then often in bundles), cylindrical, non-encrusted hyphae 6-14 μm diam., with pinkish grey or pale orange intracellular pigment (in KOH greyish purple to strongly vinaceous or reddish purple); with a differentiated subcellular subpellis, consisting of broad, short hyphae, to 31 μm diam., pale orange in mass or with orange intracellular pigment globules (in KOH purple). Clamp connections present in all tissues. ...