[2] A common feature among all species in the genus Cortinarius is that young specimens have a cortina (veil) between the cap and the stem, hence the name, meaning curtained.

Most of the fibres of the cortina are ephemeral and will leave no trace once gone, except for limited remnants on the stem or cap edge in some species.

The veil protects the gills in younger specimens and usually disappears leaving little to no trace of itself as the mushroom grows.

This genus was erected on the basis of a double veil, yet its members do not form a discrete lineage and lie nested within Cortinarius.

[6] It does form a single lineage, but lies within Cortinarius so the consensus has been to sink it into the larger genus.