Russula amoenolens
Russula amoenolens © Michael Wood
(Photo: © Michael Wood)

Russula amoenolens Romagn.
Bull. Soc. Linn. Lyon 21: 111. 1952.

Common Name: none

Misapplied name: Russula pectinatoides

  • Pileus

    Cap 4-11 cm broad, globose, becoming convex, finally plano-convex with a depressed center; margin fragile, entire to eroded, with warted striations; surface viscid when moist, smooth, yellow-brown to light brown, the disc darker; flesh thin, white, brittle; odor mild when young, unpleasant at maturity, like burnt rubber/plastic; taste, latently peppery.

  • Lamellae

    Gills adnate, close, brittle, white, in age cream, frequently developing brown stains.

  • Stipe

    Stipe 3-7 cm tall, 1-2.5 cm thick, brittle, equal to tapering downward, white with brownish stains especially at the base; solid when young, becoming nearly hollow at maturity; veil absent.

  • Spores

    Spore 7-8 x 5-6 µm, subglobose to elliptical, warted, the ornamentation amyloid; spore print cream.

  • Habitat

    Scattered to gregarious under both hardwood and conifers; in our area abundant under Monterey pine; fruiting from early fall to mid-winter.

  • Edibility

    Inedible; the unpleasant odor and peppery taste are obvious deterrents.

  • Comments

    Russula amoenolens is recognized by a sticky (when moist) brown cap with a tuberculate-striate margin, gills and stipe which develop brown discolorations, and an unpleasant "burnt"odor at maturity. It fruits abundantly in the early fall often with Chroogomphus vinicolor and Suillus pungens under Monterey pine. Until recently, Russula pectinatoides was the name applied locally to this mushroom.

  • Other Descriptions and Photos

    (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)

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