Cortinarius violaceus

Purple- haze Ling ( Cortinarius violaceus )

The Dark purple veil Ling ( Cortinarius violaceus ) is a species of fungus in the family veil Ling relatives ( Cortinariaceae ). Other names for this fungus are Violet Veil Ling, Midnight Mushroom or Purple- Dickfuß. This " very beautiful, noble kind " was chosen in 1857 by the Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries as type species of the genus Cortinarius started by him.

Features

The magnificent color and scent of cedar make the Dark Violet Veil Ling to an eye-catching fungus. The deep blue violet colored fruiting bodies often have a " swollen clavate " stalk. Aging the fruiting bodies, so they turn dark brown to black-brown. Often they are covered with rust brown spore powder. The hemispherical, more spread out at the age hat has a diameter up to 14 cm. While the blades are intense blue-violet, the fungus meat has only a weak gray violet color. Action of potassium hydroxide leads to a blood-red color reaction.

Dissemination

C. violaceus occurs worldwide. Described are finds from Japan, Central Europe, Australia (including New Guinea and New Zealand) as well as from North America.

Importance

Chemical ingredients

The Purple Veil Ling stands out because of its dark blue-violet color. Since the 60s, there have been efforts to isolate the blue dye of C. violaceus, which long was not possible in view of the great sensitivity and the polarity of this compound. Deep violet water extracts discolor within minutes dirty brown. How recently turned out to C. violaceus has a higher iron content than any other known species of fungi ( 7.4 mg / g dry weight). Recent studies show that iron ( II) ion forms a deep red-violet colored complex with the unusual amino acid dopa. These fungal " iron ink " is called Corti Ferrin.

Feed value

The Dark purple veil Ling is considered edible, at least not toxic. He is not a good edible mushroom.

System

The world's occurring fungus C. violaceus is an "isolated " outsider, whose characteristics correlate little with other species of the largest genus agaric Cortinarius. The differentiation between a deciduous forest clan C. violaceus and a coniferous forest clan hercynicus Cortinarius ( Pers.) Lev. is still a matter of debate.