| Russula betularum Hora |
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common name(s) : Birch Brittlegill
synonyms: Russula emetica-betularum edibility : poisonous
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The cap is with variable shades : pale pastel pink, discolouring, sometimes buff, convex then expanded then often a bit depressed; its margin is striate when mature. The cap surface is smooth, sticky when damp. The stem is pure white, soft, without ring. The flesh is white, unchanging; its taste is acrid; the odour is fruity, or of vanilla or coconut; its texture is grainy (breaking like a chalk stick). The gills are pure white, adnexed to almost free, crowded (nb of gills per 90° ~ 18 ). The spore print is pure white (A). This species is mycorrhizal. It grows on the ground, in moist areas of broad-leaved or mixed woods, with birch (very rarely spruce). The fruiting period takes place from July to November.
Chemical tests : flesh becoming low intensity pink when in contact with iron sulphate; faint and slow reaction to Gaïac; cap cystidia reacting purple to sulpho-vanillin. Distinctive features : cap surface entirely peelable, covering a white flesh; striate margin with small warts; with birch, favouring damp areas Russula betularum is occasional and widely present in the forest of Rambouillet, and is frequent, more generally speaking . | ||
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page updated on 14/01/18