Russula ballouii

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

by Michael Kuo

Russula ballouii is likely to be confused with several other species of Russula, including some of the less-stinky mushrooms in the Russula subfoetens species cluster, and some of the species clustered around Russula sororia. However, Russula ballouii is odorless, and has a dry cap and stem that are densely covered with brownish yellow to reddish pigment patches that break up as the mushroom grows. It does not have a lined cap margin, and its gills do not bruise. The taste is strongly acrid.

Edibility for Russula ballouii is not recorded, and it is not a particularly easy mushroom to identify; I do not recommend it for the table.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods; growing scattered or gregariously; summer and fall; east of the Rocky Mountains.

Cap: 3-9.5 cm; convex when young, later flat or broadly convex, with a central depression; dry; densely covered with pigment patches that break up as the mushroom matures; brownish yellow to rusty, orangish brown or nearly reddish (see comments below); the margin not lined.

Gills: Attached to the stem or beginning to run down it; crowded or close; whitish to creamy; not bruising but sometimes yellowish brown where damaged by insects.

Stem: 3-6.5 cm long; 1-2 cm thick; more or less equal; dry; textured and colored like the cap.

Flesh: White; unchanging.

Taste: Acrid; odor not distinctive, or "of bread dough" (Bills & Miller).

Chemical Reactions: Iron salts pale pink on the stem. KOH reaction not recorded in the literature, but in my experience the cap stains brownish red with KOH (see illustration).

Spore Print: Whitish or creamy.

Microscopic Features: Spores 7-9 x 5.5-7.5 µ; elliptical to egg-shaped; ornamented with warts .2-1 µ high; with amyloid ridges that form a partial or nearly complete reticulum.

REFERENCES: Peck, 1913. (Bills & Miller, 1984; Weber & Smith, 1985; Phillips, 1991/2005.) Herb. Kuo 09270301.

Russula tennesseensis is a synonym, according to several authors.

Descriptions of Russula ballouii vary substantially. Weber & Smith (1985) describe Russula balloui (with one "i") as a brick red mushroom whose spores are ornamented with "at most a broken reticulum" (135); Phillips (1991) calls for a "mild" taste and slightly larger spores that are partially reticulate (126).

Further Online Information:

Russula ballouii at Roger's Mushrooms

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Cite this page as:

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