Identifying toxic Cortinarius mushrooms can be challenging due to the wide morphological diversity within the genus. Key characteristics of some toxic species include a reddish-brown cap, rusty brown spores, and the presence of a cortina, a cobweb-like veil, at the young stage. However, due to the risk of misidentification, foraging for wild mushrooms without expert guidance is strongly discouraged. Mushroom identification should ideally be performed by a mycologist or a trained mushroom identifier.
