Blackening brittlegill

Description:

Caps of Russula nigricans are 6 to 20 cm in diameter, convex with an inrolled margin and then later flatter and centrally depressed, the caps are dirty white at first, turning grey-brown and then eventually blackening all over. The sometimes finely felty but often smooth cap peels to about 75%. Below the cap cuticle, which often cracks in dry weather, the flesh is white, greying with age. The widely-spaced adnate gills of Russula nigricans are thick and extremely brittle, they are interspersed with many shorter gills known as lamellae. Ivory-white to straw-coloured at first, the gills soon turn grey and bruise rosy red-brown when damaged. Eventually, like the rest of the fruiting body, the gills turn dull black. The smooth, blackening stems are cylindrical or taper in slightly towards the base, 1 to 4 cm in diameter and 3 to 8 cm tall. The stem flesh is white at first, reddering and then blackening with age or when bruised. There is no stem ring.

Habitat:

Common in broadleaf, mixed and coniferous woodland, Russula nigricans occurs throughout Europe and can be found from Scandinavia right down to the Mediterranean region. Its range extends eastwards into temperate parts of Asia. Like other Russula species, the blackening brittlegill is ectomycorrhizal.

Notes:

Spotted in Nieuwe Rande Forest in rural area of Deventer, Holland.(sources:see reference)