In 2022 a revised classification of the Cortinariaceae family was published following much genetic work.
The family is now split into 10 genera, of which 7 are found in New Zealand.
The New Zealand genera are:
Aureonarius
Austrocortinarius
Cortinarius
Cystinarius
Phlegmacium
Thaxterogaster
Volvanarius
I have updated the website to use these new names but the older names still remain in the index.
A revised classification of the family Cortinariaceae.
Typical for the species of the family Cortinariaceae are ornamented basidiospores that are cinnamon brown in deposit. Most species also have a cobweb-like inner veil covering the young lamellae and the remnants of it can often still been found at the upper part of the stipe in older basidiomata. Characteristic is also the silky-fibrillose stipe, at least easily observed at the top of the stipe. Majority of the species lack cheilo- and/or pleurocystidia which are only found in genus Cystinarius and some lineages of genera Cortinarius and Volvanarius. The structure of the pileipellis in the majority of genera and subgenera is duplex with a more or less developed hypoderm. Variation in size and coloration of basidiomata is large. One of the smallest species, Cortinarius bibulus (not in NZ), has a pileus of 0.3–1.5 cm in diam. and a stipe 1.5–5 × 0.1–0.3 cm, and one of the largest, Phlegmacium praestans (not in NZ), has a pileus up to 20 cm in diam. and a stipe up to 20 × 3 cm. A wide variety of colored pigments can be found from the basidiomata although brownish, ochrceous/yellow, greyish, whitish, and purplish colours are most common.