''Russula aeruginea'', also known as the grass-green russula, the tacky green russula, or the green russula, is an edible ''

Russula ''Russula'' is a very large genus composed of around 750 worldwide species of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. They are typically common, fairly large, and brightly colored – making them one of the most recognizable genera among mycologists and mushr ...

'' mushroom. Widely distributed in northern

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions, it is usually found under

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 ...

, mostly in pine forests. The very poisonous

death cap ''Amanita phalloides'' (), commonly known as the death cap, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus ''Amanita''. Widely distributed across Europe, but now sprouting in other parts of the world, ''A. phalloides ...

can have a similar appearance, especially from above.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired ...

's 1863 work ''Monographia Hymenomycetum Sueciae''. 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 ...

''aeruginea'' 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 ...

''aeruginus'', referring to the tarnished color of

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

. It is commonly known variously as the "tacky green Russula", the "grass-green Russula", or the "green Russula".

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 flat when young, soon funnel shaped and weakly striped; somewhat sticky and shiny, pale green to light grey-green, more rarely olive green. It is often in diameter. The closely 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 pale cream when young, later becoming light yellow when the spores mature. The stipe is white, occasionally with rust-coloured spots at the base, often rather short with longitudinal furrows. It measures long by thick. The

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 muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as mu ...

is white, brittle and without scent, with a mild taste. ''R. aeruginea'' mushrooms are

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 ...

. The

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

is cream-yellow.

Spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

are spherical to oval with ridges and warts on the surface, and measure 6–8 by 6–7 μm. Green specimens of the crab brittlegill, ''

Russula xerampelina ''Russula xerampelina'', also commonly known as the crab brittlegill or the shrimp mushroom, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the brittlegill genus ''Russula''. Two subspecies are recognised. The fruiting bodies appear in coniferous woodlands i ...

'', can be mistaken for ''R. aeruginea''. They can be readily distinguished in that specimens of ''R. xerampelina'' always smell of cooked shellfish, while specimens of ''R. aeruginea'' do not have any distinctive odor.

Habitat and distribution

The fruit bodies of ''Russula aeruginea'' grow on the ground in woods, in troops in leaf litter or in grass. It is

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...

l with

, but also with found under conifers, particularly

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

and

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 ...

. It is widely distributed in northern

zones. Fruiting occurs from July to November in Europe, and in later summer to autumn in North America. The fungus is also found in East Africa.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1323740 Edible fungi Fungi described in 1863 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America aeruginea Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries

Taxonomy

Description

Habitat and distribution

See also

References

External links