Cortinarius violaceus

Cortinarius violaceus (L.) Gray, A natural arrangement of British plants 1: 628 (1821) 

Description:
Cap 40 – 150 mm wide, convex, dry, covered with velvety tufts or scales, giving a furred appearance, dark violet to deep purple, stipe 60 – 150 mm long, 10 – 20 mm wide at apex, clavate cortina purple, sparse, flesh deep violet to violet, pale lilac to lilac grey in stipe base, KOH red, habitat conifer forest, singly or scattered

Discussion:
One of the most distinctive purple Cortinarii, this is also the Type species for Genus Cortinarius. It is not a good example of a typical Cort, but is certainly memorable and a beautiful mushroom to observe. There are no local species with which it could be confused, but according to Harrower (2015) there are several other species in this section in at least Australia, New Zealand, South America and SE USA.

Bibliography
Harrower, Emma, Neale L. Bougher, Terry W. Henkel, Egon Horak, and P. Brandon Matheny. “Long-Distance Dispersal and Speciation of Australasian and American Species of Cortinarius Sect. Cortinarius.” Mycologia 107, no. 4 (July 2015): 697–709. https://doi.org/10.3852/14-182.