Yet another kind of veil! The good news is after three posts (partial veil, universal veil, and now slime veil) I think I’ve finally figured out how to spell it: v-e-i-l.
The spelling of the word is to me almost as strange as the thing itself. A slime veil is basically a kind of universal veil, only it is made out of gluten instead of tissue. (Gluten is also responsible for the sticky, gluelike texture of wet dough.)
Most mushrooms with a slime veil fall under the genus Cortinarius, which is also one of, if not the largest genus in the fungal kingdom, with something like 1000 species. The vast majority of these are not yet well understood in North America, so identifying a “cort” down to the species level is a pretty dubious task.
That said, I’m 73% sure the species above is Cortinarius collinitus, or a closely related varient. It matches the field guide description in everything except the KOH reaction. (KOH is a strong base used to test for certain chemical reactions). Mushrooms of the Midwest says, “KOH negative on cap and on flesh,” whereas I found both cap and flesh to slowly turn a dark purple color.
As Michael Kuo notes “several midwestern versions exist,” mine probably being one of them.
recycled paper clips 