Russula rutila Romagn. - Ruddy Brittlegill

Phylum: Basidiomycota - Class: Agaricomycetes - Order: Russulales - Family: Russulaceae

Distribution - Taxonomic History - Etymology - Culinary Notes - Identification - Reference Sources

This beautiful but very rare mushroom is easily confused with other more common red or pink brittlegills. Many of the reddish brittlegills (Rusula species) can be very difficult or even impossible to separate without resorting to chemical tests and microscopy.

Distribution

This is a rare mushroom of broadleaf woodland. In Britain it has been found under oaks and Hornbeam trees. Russula rutila is also recorded on the mainland of Europe, including parts of Scandinavia and in France (where the holotype specimen was found.)

Taxonomic history

The Ruddy Brittlegill was described and given its currently-accepted scientific binomial name in 1952 by French mycologist Henri Romagnesi (1912 - 1999).

Etymology

Russula, the generic name, means red or reddish, and indeed many of the brittlegills have red caps (but many more are not red, and several of those that are usually red can also occur in a range of other colours!). The specific epithet rutila means goldish red and refers to the typical colour of the cap.

Identification guide

	Cap Red, pink or orange-red, sometimes paler towards the centre; dry and smooth to matt; 2 to 6cm diameter, convex, later flattening or developing a slight central depression. Peeling 1/3 to 1/2-way to the centre..
	Gills Pale ochre yellow, miderately crowded; brittle. Stem Solid, brittle, with white flesh; cylindrical, often slightly tapering at base; 2 to 5cm long, 0.7 to 1.2cm diameter. Chemical tests Stem flesh turns greyish pink when rubbed with crystals of Ferrous Sulphate (FeSO4); with Guiac it turns pale blue.
	Spores Subspherical; 7.5-9.5 x 7-9µm; with warts and some short ridges, spine height up to 1.3µm. Show larger image Spores of Russula rutila, Ruddy Brittlegill  X  Spore print Bright ochre-yellow.
Odour/taste	Odour faint but pleasant, slightly fruity; taste acrid.
Habitat & Ecological role	Mycorrhizal with deciduous broadleaf trees, mainly Oaks and Hornbeams.
Season	August to October in Britain and Ireland.
Similar species	The Beechwood Sickener Russula nobilis is found most often under Beech trees.

Culinary Notes

Russula rutila is very rare in Britain and Ireland and is therefore not a mushroom of culinary interest.

Reference Sources

Pat O'Reilly (2016). Fascinated by Fungi, First Nature Publishing

Geoffrey Kibby (2011).The Genus Russula in Great Britain, published by G Kibby.

Roberto Galli (1996). Le Russule. Edinatura, Milan.

Paul M. Kirk, Paul F. Cannon, David W. Minter and J. A. Stalpers. (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi; CABI.

Taxonomic history and synonym information on these pages is drawn from many sources but in particular from the British Mycological Society's GB Checklist of Fungi.

Acknowledgements

This page includes pictures kindly contributed by Simon Harding.

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