Russula aurea - Gilded Brittlegill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Russulales

Russula aurea (syn. Russula aurata) is an occasional species under broad-leaf trees; it is mainly found occasionally under spruce trees. This attractive brittlegill is a fairly frequent find in summer and autumn. The Gilded Brittlegill is an edible mushroom, but it is unusual to find sufficient in one location to justify collecting them.

Red brittlegills are difficult to identify with certainty, but Russula aurea has the almost unique characteristic of developing a golden-ochre coloured stem when mature.

Identification Guide

	Cap 4 to 9cm in diameter, the caps are spherical at first, becoming convex and then flattening and often with slightly depressed centres. Orange or blood red, often with a golden tinge especially in the centre, the cap cuticle easily peels half way to the centre.
	Gills Adnexed or free, the fairly well spaced broad gills are pale ochre, darkening slightly as the fruiting body ages.
	Stem 10 to 25mm in diameter and 4 to 9cm tall, the brittle stems are white at first but becoming golden-yellow with age. There is no stem ring.
Spore print	Ochre.
Odour/taste	No significant odour; mild taste.
Habitat	In broad-leaf woodland.
Season	August to October.
Occurrence	Infrequent.
Similar species	Russula paludosa is a red species that sometimes has an orange tinge to its cap, but the stem remains white or pale pink rather than turning golden yellow.