Russula fragilis
Systematics:
- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Incertae sedis (undefined)
- Order: Russulales
- Family: Russulaceae (Russula)
- Genus: Russula (Russula)
- Species: Russula fragilis (Russula fragile)
Rusula fragile – A small russula that changes color, the cap is often pink-purple in color and fades with age.
External description
The cap is 2.5-6 cm in diameter, convex at an early age, then from open to concave, along the edge with short ribs, translucent plates, pink-purple, in places gray-greenish. The stem is even, white, cylindrical, mealy, often thin-striped. The plates remain white for a long time, then turn yellowish, sometimes with a jagged edge. The stem is white, 3-7 cm long and 5-15 mm thick. Pulp with a strong pungent taste. Spore powder is white. The spores are colorless, with an amyloid mesh pattern, and look like short ellipses measuring 7-9 x 6-7.5 microns.
Distribution
It is often found on acidic soils in deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests under birches, pines, oaks, hornbeams, etc. The russula fragile occurs in coniferous and deciduous forests from August to October, less often from June. The mushroom grows in Karelia, the middle zone of the European part of Russia, the Baltic states, Belarus, and Ukraine.
Season: Summer – Autumn (July – October).
Similarity
Brittle russula is very similar to the inedible russula sardonyx, or lemon-lamina (Russula sardonia), which differs mainly in a hard, black-purple color of the cap and plates – bright to sulfur-yellow.
Edibility
The mushroom is conditionally edible, of the fourth category. Consumed only salted. In its raw form, it can cause mild gastrointestinal poisoning.