''Russula vinosa'', commonly known in English as the darkening brittlegill, is a species of

basidiomycete Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

found in coniferous woodlands in Europe and North America in summer and early autumn. Unlike many red-capped members of the russula genus, it is

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

and mild-tasting. It is usually understood to have a

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

relationship with evergreen tree roots, except for in mountainous areas where it has occasionally associated with

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

es.

Taxonomy

''Russula vinosa'' was originally described in the Swedish guide "Svampbok", (lit. "Mushroom Book"), written by Dr. M. A. Lindblad for publication in 1901. Romel who came up with the synonymous Russula obscura was an editor for the 1913 release of the text. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

"vinosa" is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''vinum'' "wine", likely alluding to the wine-colored cap of this species that is capable of acting as a dye.

Description

The

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

is concave and wine to red-brown in colour, often fading to a pale white or tan in the center with age. The widely spaced

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

are white, and adnexed or free. The stipe is cylindrical and white or cream colored. The brittle

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...

is light and the taste is mild.

Similar species

The red-capped color of ''Russula vinosa'' is almost impossible to visually separate from other toxic and inedible red-capped Russulas, such as the bloody brittlegill ('' R. sanguinaria''), the sickener ('' R. emetica''), and the beechwood sickener ('' R. nobilis''). It may also be confused with similar edible species such as '' Russula paludosa'' and ''

Russula decolorans ''Russula decolorans'' is an edible ''Russula'' mushroom found in groups in coniferous forests. Description The cap is convex, with a depressed centre when old, often brick-red and slippery when young. The cap grows up to 10 cm. The flesh is ...

''. It is therefore important to identify the mushroom with absolute certainty before consumption.

Distribution and habitat

''Russula vinosa'' is found in Europe and North America. It is known from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, Southern Europe,

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, and

Fennoscandia __NOTOC__ Fennoscandia (Finnish language, Finnish, Swedish language, Swedish and no, Fennoskandia, nocat=1; russian: Фенноскандия, Fennoskandiya) or the Fennoscandian Peninsula is the geographical peninsula in Europe, which includes ...

. It usually occurs in

coniferous 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 extant ...

tree stands in summer and early autumn.

Edibility

Unlike many other red-capped members of the genus, ''Russula vinosa'' is mild-tasting and

. In Sweden where its edibility is noted, it is known as "Vinkremla" alluding to its wine color.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q113988 vinosa Fungi described in 1901 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Edible fungi