Russula aurora - Dawn Brittlegill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Russulales

The Dawn Brittlegill appears under deciduous broadleaf trees, notably Beech as well as with various oaks and birches. Its cap edge and gill extremeties tend to distort in dry weather.

Note: The full citation reference intended here is Russula aurora (Krombh.) Bres. 1892. It happened so often in the past that not only was the same mushroom given two or more scientific names by different people but also two or more mushroom species sometimes ended up with the same name given to them by different authorities. In 1888 the famous French mycologist Lucien Quélet applied the name Russula rosea to the Dawn Brittlegill; however, the species that we now generally refer to as Russula rosea (or strictly that should be Russula rosea Pers. 1796) is commonly called the Rosy Brittlegill. The Dawn Brittlegill described below has a flesh-pink cap, whereas caps of the Rosy Brittlegill are more of an orange-red colour. Beware, however, of treating cap colour as more than a clue: brittlegills are very variable in their colours and so other macroscopic and microscopic characters (including taste, peeling ability and response to chemical tests) are ctitically important.

Identification Guide

Cap	Usually flesh pink (but sometimes a brighter red), often creamy pink towards the centre, usually matt or slightly pruinose; peeling half-way to centre; developing slight striations at the margin; 4 to 9cm across; convex, becoming depressed; flesh white and very brittle.
Gills	White, turning pale cream with age; adnate or adnexed; fairly crowded, with some forked gills.
Stem	White, slightly pruinose; 4 to 8cm long and 1 to 2 cm dia; flesh white and brittle; no ring.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Slight fruity odour; mild taste.
Habitat	Under broadleaf trees, notably Beech, birches and oaks but also under hornbeams and occasionally under limes.
Season	August to November.
Occurrence	Moderately frequent but localised rather than widespread.
Similar species	Russula sanguinaria has a red-flushed stipe. Russula paludosa is usually larger and has cream gills even when young.