''Russula integra'', commonly known as the entire russula, is a species of mushroom. The fungus stems from the huge genus of '' Russula''. It is found in

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

forests across Europe and throughout North America. The fruiting body is mildly flavoured with a slight cashew-like taste and dense flesh. It is edible and most commonly consumed in Central Europe.

Description

The cap is almost shaped like a sphere at first, and soon becomes flattened or depressed; it is broad. The

cuticle A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

is shiny, varies in color, but is usually brown and tinged with violet, purple, yellow, or green. The gills are thick, widely spaced, easily crumbled into small pieces, white at first and then turns bright yellow eventually. The stipe is thick and white, but stains yellow or russet with age; it measures long and thick. The flesh is white, very firm, and has a mild flavor. The spore print is yellow-

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

, broadly

elliptical Elliptical may mean: * having the shape of an ellipse, or more broadly, any oval shape ** in botany, having an elliptic leaf shape ** of aircraft wings, having an elliptical planform * characterised by ellipsis (the omission of words), or by conc ...

, and has amyloid warts.

Edibility

The authors of ''The Great Encyclopedia of Mushrooms'' said that the species has a crunchy texture and tastes nutty. It is popular to eat in

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and Central Europe. In

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, the mushroom is called ''pâinişoară'' ("little bread") due to its edibility and perceived taste and texture. David Arora said that the species is good when it is young. There are species with unknown edibility that look similar to this species. According to an 1878 study, poisoning from this species used to be frequent, but is now rare. The study concluded that long cooking gets rid of its poisonous properties, but that rapid culinary processes does not such as roasting.

Similar species

Russula mustelina ''Russula mustelina'', commonly known as the russet brittlegill, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus '' Russula'' native to Europe and North America. Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries described the species in his 1838 book ''Epicrisis Sy ...

'' is similar, with a brown cap, white stalk, yellow spores, and firm flesh.

Habitat

David Arora said that species is widely distributed and can commonly be found scattered under

conifers Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extan ...

. and the authors of ''The Great Encyclopedia of Mushrooms'' said that the species can commonly be found in

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

forests or

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

forests in the mountains. The species is rare in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and can be found there in August.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q901119, from2=Q80648 integra Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Edible fungi Fungus species Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fungi described in 1753