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Oilslick Brittlegill

Russula ionochlora

Description:

Like the genus Lactarius, Russulas have a distinctive flesh consistency, which is also reflected in the appearance of the gills and stipe, and normally makes them immediately recognizable. They have no trace of a veil (no ring, or veil remnants on the cap). The gills are brittle except in a few cases, and cannot be bent parallel with the cap without breaking. The spore powder varies from white to cream, or even orange. While it is relatively easy to identify a sample mushroom as belonging to this genus, it is a significant challenge to distinguish member species of Russula. This task often requires microscopic characteristics, and subtle subjective distinctions, such as the difference between a mild to bitter and a mild to acrid flavor. Moreover the exact phylogenetic relationships of these mushrooms have yet to be resolved in the professional mycological community, and may ultimately depend on DNA sequencing analysis. The following characteristics are often important in identifying individual species: the exact colour of the spore powder (white/cream/ochre), the taste (mild/bitter/acrid), colour changes in the flesh, the distance from the centre to which the cap skin can be pulled off: (peeling percentage). cap colour (but this is often very variable within one species), reaction of the flesh to ferrous sulphate (FeSO4), formalin, alkalis, and other chemicals, ornamentation of the spores, and other microscopic characteristics, such as the appearance of the cystidia in various mounting reagents. Despite the difficulty in positively identifying collected specimens, the possibility to spot the toxic species by their acrid taste makes some of the mild species, such as R. cyanoxantha and R. vesca, popular edible mushrooms. As far as is known, no species of Russula is deadly poisonous and mild-tasting ones are all edible. Note that this rule applies only to Russulas and not to other types of mushrooms! see ( http://www.mtsn.tn.it/russulales-news/pd... )

Habitat:

location: Europe edibility: Edible fungus colour: Yellow, Blue, Green, Violet or purple, Grey to beige normal size: 5-15cm cap type: Convex to shield shaped stem type: Simple stem flesh: Flesh granular or brittle spore colour: White, cream or yellowish habitat: Grows in woods, Grows on the ground Russula ionochlora Romagn.Schiefergrauer Täubling, Oilslick Brittlegill. Cap 4.5–7cm across, convex, later flattening, often with low bosses and somewhat irregularly waved, pale coloured, typically a mixture of dull bluish, yellowish to ochreous pale greens, often with greyish lilac to pale wine border, moderately fleshy, half peeling. Stem 30–70 x 12–20mm, white or faintly tinged violet, salmon if rubbed with iron salts. Flesh white. Taste distinctly hot when young, later mild. Gills almost free, pale cream. Spore print pale cream (B–C). Spores ovoid with warts up to 0.5µ high, isolated or occasionally in short chains, no fine lines, 6.5–7.5 x 4.7–6µ. Cap surface hyphae with terminal cell usually broadly cylindrical with rounded ends; supporting cells rectangular to somewhat inflated. Cap cystidia mostly club-shaped, not septate. Habitat under beech. Season summer to early autumn. Occasional. Edible. (Never eat any mushroom until you are certain it is edible as many are poisonous and some are deadly poisonous) Found In Europe ( http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/D... )

Notes:

The genus Russula includes some very beautiful and interesting species, and a lot of hard-to-distinguish species. Because russulas are typically fairly large, and because they are often brightly colored, amateur mushroomers are frequently interested in identifying them. About 20 or 30 species can be identified fairly easily--but there are perhaps 750 species worldwide. Confounding the identification problems for North American Russula collectors is the dearth of available technical literature. I know several mycologists who maintain that Kauffman's 1918 treatment of Russula species in the Great Lakes area is still the most comprehensive and useful overall treatment of the genus on this continent! See the bibliography below if you are interested in attempting to compile a notebook of North American Russula literature by sorting through field guide descriptions and technical treatments of subgenera and sections. Before you do, however, let me try to talk you out of it. Advanced Russula identification is a nightmare far beyond the usual frustrating realm of advanced mushroomology. In fact, I will go ahead and say it (though I am likely to receive some e-flak for my efforts): Russula identification is a joke. The "species" are defined on frequently ridiculous, variable characters; the literature goes to great lengths to cover this fact up with pseudoscientific jargon and long-winded descriptions; the use of a microscope often compounds, rather than alleviates, the frustrating milieu of variability and subjectivity; and we are at a point in time when DNA studies are likely to throw out most of the babies with the PCR-primed bathwater. Since I am an English teacher, I feel obliged to back these points up with evidence in the paragraphs that follow. You don't just call the Emperor naked without proving it. But my main point is that the 20 or 30 species you will find in most field guides to North American mushrooms are about as good as it gets, and I will not be offended if you skip my little tirade and scroll to the links to species pages and keys below. ( http://www.mushroomexpert.com/russula.ht... )

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3 Comments

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

Where is Lars? I saw Clive Shirley briefly. He was on Noah last week .ALex,.Lars .Gary. Clive ,hello!

The MnMs
The MnMs 10 years ago

Our purple mushrooms are back on season! great! I have to go to the woods and check :-)

AlexKonig
AlexKonig 12 years ago

thanks clive, here are much, more "intensiv" purple colored russulas. This one particular: catched my eye, because the color is so evenly over the whole cap, and the stem/stripe is nicely pink discolored

AlexKonig
Spotted by
AlexKonig

Heerlen, Limburg, Netherlands

Spotted on Oct 23, 2011
Submitted on Feb 9, 2012

Spotted for Mission

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