Russula foetens - Stinking Brittlegill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Russulales

Russula foetens, the Stinking Brittlegill, has a cap diameter of up to 15cm. Young specimens give off an unpleasant acrid smell which becomes increasingly fishy as the fruit bodies mature; however, because of its colouring it cannot be confused with the red-stemmed Crab Brittlegill even when, as sometimes is the case, the latter has an ochre cap.

The Stinking Brittlegill smells as though it should be inedible, and indeed it is inedible.

Identification Guide

Cap	5 to 12cm in diameter and hemispherical when young, becoming more or less flat or slightly depressed in the centre when fully developed. Honey brown and rather blotchy, the cap surface is viscid and develops strong radial furrows and warty bumps as it ages.
	Gills The narrow, adnexed gills are moderately close together; they are very brittle. Initially cream, the gills darken with age and develop rust spots. Stem 15 to 40mm in diameter and 4 to 8cm tall, the brittle stems are white and solid, developing internal cavities as they age.
Spore print	Pale to mid cream.
Odour/taste	Initially with an acrid smell that becomes more like rotting fish; taste is also unpleasant.
Habitat	Coniferous and broad-leaf woodland.
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Common; often in quite large groups.
Similar species	Russula grata is a common brittlegill typically somewhat smaller but otherwise very similar to Russula foetens; it smells much more pleasant, of bitter almonds. Russula illota, a rare species in Britain, and considered by some authorities as a subspecies of Russula grata, is also similar in appearance, habitat and season. Few people can tell these species apart without resorting to microscopic examination.