Mushroom COLOR!

Viscid Violet Cortinarius (Cordtinarius iodes), is a gorgeous mushroom, ranging from white to lavender to violet purple, fading in color with age.

It’s a fungus that pairs up with roots of a plant in a symboitic relationship. In this case the Viscid Violet Cortinarius works along with the roots of Oak trees. This mushroom helps the tree absorb water and nourishment, and the tree passes along sugars and amino acids to the mushroom. Both tree and fungus benefiting from this arrangement.

Living here in the woods has been such an education. Learning that mushrooms come in such lovely colors – what a surprise!

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.