Russula pectinatoides

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by Michael Kuo

Russula pectinatoides is not the easiest of the Foetid Russulas to identify, but it has several features that help to distinguish it. I look for the relatively pale, yellowish brown or straw colored cap, the lined and pimply ("tuberculate-striate," in Mycologese) cap margin, and the presence of small, pinkish to cinnamon spots in the vicinity of the lines and pimples. The taste of Russula pectinatoides is mild or slightly acrid, and its odor is a mild and waxy version of the maraschino cherry smell that typifies the foetid russulas. Additionally, Russula pectinatoides is more fragile than many of its close cousins. A look at spore size and ornamentation will help confirm your ID.

Russula pectinatoides is not edible.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods or conifers; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall; east of the Great Plains.

Cap: 2.5-8 cm; convex, becoming broadly convex to flat with a shallow depression; slimy when wet and fresh, but typically dry when found; yellowish brown to brownish yellow overall; the margin lined and pimply for 1-2 cm, often with tiny spots of pink or cinnamon interspersed with the lines; the skin peeling away easily, usually at least halfway to the center.

Gills: Attached or pulling away from the stem; close or nearly distant; buff or yellowish; sometimes spotting or discoloring brownish.

Stem: 1.5-7 cm long; .5-2 cm thick; whitish, discoloring yellowish to brownish or reddish brown; often becoming cavernous; more or less smooth.

Flesh: Whitish; unchanging.

Taste: Mild or waxy, sometimes a little acrid; odor weakly to moderately reminiscent of maraschino cherries, almonds, or benzaldehyde, with a waxy or spermatic component.

Spore Print: Pale orange yellow.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5.5-9 x 4.5-6 µ; broadly elliptical; with warts up to 1 µ high, and sparse to nearly absent connecting lines which never form complete reticula.

REFERENCES: Peck, 1907. (Kauffman, 1918; Shaffer, 1972; Weber & Smith, 1985; Phillips, 1991/2005.) Herb. Kuo 07270402, 08010404.

Further Online Information:

Russula pectinatoides at Roger's Mushrooms
Russula pectinatoides at Fungi of Poland

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