Russula parazurea - Powdery Brittlegill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Russulales

A powdery bloom and overall greyish appearance distinguish the caps of young Powdery Brittlegills. Some have a blue-grey tinge, while others show hints of purple, but something about this brittlegill usually betrays its identity even when seen at a distance.

The specific epithet parazura suggests that this species is similarto Russula azurea, and indeed the two are sometimes confused. (The white-spored Russula azurea occurs most commonly under Norway Spruce, Picea abies).

Identification Guide

	Cap Grey and matt with a (often uniform) blue, blue-green or occasionally purple tinge and, when young and fresh, and with a powdery bloom that eventually washes off; older caps flatten out and may become slightly depressed, and the margins become striate and sometimes slightly toothed. Caps are rarely perfectly round and are often irregularly oval, 4 to 9cm across the major diameter. The cap flesh is white .
	Gills Cream, turning light ochre; adnexed; crowded.
Stem	White, often with rusty spots mainly towards the base; cylindrical or slightly tapering towards the base; 6 to 6cm long and 0.7 to 1.5cm diameter. The stem flesh is pale brownish pink.
Spore print	Cream.
Odour/taste	Odour not distinctive; taste mild.
Habitat	Usually solitary or in very small groups in mixed woodland and spruce plantations; mycorrhizal most commonly with oaks, birches and spruces.
Season	July to October.
Occurrence	Infrequent.
Similar species	The Charcoal Burner, Russula cyanoxantha is sometimes greenish grey but is not covered in a fine bloom; it produces a white spore print and is notable for its extremely pliant (compared with other Russula fungi) gills.