Russula albidula

[ Basidiomycetes > Russulales > Russulaceae > Russula . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

The mushrooms in this species cluster are fairly easily recognized; they are white, medium-sized, slimy-capped, have white spore prints, and are decidedly acrid in taste. Russula albidula is found under hardwoods or in mixed woods, and is widely distributed; it is described below. Russula subalbidula, Russula albella, and Russula anomala are very similar. Trust me: sorting out the differences among these species is not how you want to spend your day.

Arora (1986) gives Russula albidula rather a hard time, giving it the "common name" of "Boring White Russula." He calls it "plain, unprepossessing, and profoundly forgetable," and offers "[b]etter whacked than sacked" as his comment for edibility (96). While I admit it is not the most thrilling mushroom I've ever seen, I find it rather daintily beautiful (and anyway, as MushroomExpert regulars may recall, I save my mycobigotry for species of Suillus).

I have no information on the edibility of these mushrooms, but their acrid taste is an overriding factor, anyway.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods and probably with conifers (the illustrated mushrooms were found in a redwood forest with a few hardwoods in it); growing alone or scattered; summer and fall (sometimes in winter and spring in warmer climares); widely distributed in North America.

Cap: 2.5-5 cm; broadly convex to flat with a shallow depression; fairly slimy when wet, otherwise merely sticky; white; smooth; the margin not prominently lined, but occasionally faintly so; skin peeling away easily.

Gills: Attached or nearly free from the stem; crowded; not generally forking; white; not bruising.

Stem: 2.5-4 cm long; .5-1.5 cm thick; white; dry; often becoming cavernous in age; smooth.

Flesh: White; fragile.

Taste: Acrid.

Spore Print: White or pale creamy.

Microscopic Features: Spores 7-10 µ; more or less round; with amyloid ornamentation.

REFERENCES: Peck, 1898. (Kauffman, 1918; Arora, 1986). Herb. Kuo 02200301.

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Kuo, M. (2005, January). Russula albidula. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/russula_albidula.html