(1879) Gomphos crocolitus Kuntze (1891) Phlegmacium crocolitum Ricken (1912) Cortinarius triumphans var.

The species was first was described by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries in 1838; its generic name derived from the Latin cortina "veil", and the specific triumphans "triumphing".

It was a member of the subgenus Phlegmacium within the genus Cortinarius; mushrooms of this group have sticky (or slimy in wet weather) caps and dry stipes.

[4] It has a 5–12 cm (2–5 in) diameter cap which is yellowish in colour-darker in the centre and paler on the edges.

[3][5] Phlegmacium triumphans appear under birch trees in autumn (fall) in Europe, and Asia where it is widespread, but local.