Russula compacta

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

by Michael Kuo

Found east of the Rocky Mountains, this sturdy, distinctive Russula bruises reddish brown on all parts. The cap is initially almost whitish, but discoloration soon begins, and mature specimens have reddish brown shades. Russula compacta has a characteristically foul odor which becomes stronger as the mushroom matures, and dried specimens positively reek. The smell lacks the sweet component found in the Russula subfoetens species cluster.

Russula compacta is edible, but field guide authors say it is of poor quality. I have not tried it--and after smelling dried specimens, I doubt a culinary adventure with this species is in my future.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods, and with conifers in northern areas; growing scattered or gregariously; summer and fall; east of the Rocky Mountains, range extending as far south as Costa Rica.

Cap: 3-18 cm; convex when young, later flat or broadly convex, often with a slightly sunken center; sticky when fresh; more or less smooth, the cap "skin" sometimes breaking up in age; pale or almost whitish when young, but soon discoloring dirty yellowish to reddish brown, and in age appearing completely cinnamon; bruising reddish brown; the margin not lined.

Gills: Attached to the stem; crowded, close, or almost distant; white to cream, eventually yellowish cream; bruising and discoloring reddish brown.

Stem: 3-10 cm long; 1-3.5 cm thick; sturdy; more or less equal; dry; smooth; whitish, but soon flushed reddish brown; bruising reddish brown.

Flesh: White; discoloring yellowish to yellowish brown or reddish brown on exposure; thick.

Taste: Mild. Odor foul, the pungency increasing as the mushroom ages; odor of dried specimens strongly unpleasant.

Chemical Reactions: Not recorded in the literature, but in my experience the cap stains olive with KOH (see illustration).

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 7-10 x 6-8.5 µ; elliptical; ornamented with warts to 1 µ high; with a few amyloid ridges that rarely form a partial, broken reticulum.

REFERENCES: Frost, 1879. (Kauffman, 1918; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Weber & Smith, 1985; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992.) Herb. Kuo 07220322, 07300301.

Further Online Information:

Russula compacta at Macrofungi of Costa Rica
Russula compacta at Roger's Mushrooms

KOH

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Cite this page as:

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