Russula sororia

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by Michael Kuo

Russula sororia is a rather nondescript, brownish mushroom found under conifers and under deciduous trees. Crucial identification features include a pure white spore print, a slowly but distinctly acrid taste (make sure the gills are included in your tasting sample), a lined cap margin, and fairly slender proportions (see cap and stem measurements below). The gills and the base of the stem often begin to discolor brownish to reddish brown with age.

Edibility is uncertain for Russula sororia; at least one author (Arora, 1986) says it is "possibly poisonous." The acrid taste of the gills is unpleasant, anyway, and I see no reason for anyone to risk an experiment.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods or conifers; growing scattered to gregariously, sometimes in urban settings; summer and fall (sometimes in winter, in warmer climates); widely distributed and frequently encountered in many areas.

Cap: 4-12 cm; convex when young, becoming broadly convex to flat with a shallow depression; somewhat slimy when wet, otherwise merely tacky or dry; dark grayish brown, fading somewhat with age; often paler toward the margin in age; the margin prominently lined in older specimens; skin peeling away easily at the margin, sometimes nearly half-way to the center.

Gills: Attached or nearly free from the stem; close; not generally forking; white; often spotting brownish to reddish brown in age.

Stem: 3-8 cm long; 1-2.5 cm thick; white, often discoloring reddish brown near the base; dry; often becoming cavernous; smooth.

Flesh: White, unchanging.

Taste: Gills slowly but distinctly acrid; other parts mild or slightly acrid; odor usually unpleasant, especially in mature specimens--but sometimes not distinctive.

Spore Print: Pure white.

Microscopic Features: Spores 6-9 x 5-7 µ; with warts up to .4 µ high; broadly elliptical or, more often, nearly round.

REFERENCES: Fries, 1838. (Kauffman, 1918; Arora, 1986; Hansen & Knudsen, 1992). Herb. Kuo 06249504, 08290203.

Several species in the Foetid Russula Group are very similar to Russula sororia. Typically, however, those species are more yellowish brown, yellowish, or orangish--and they have a distinctive smell, like maraschino cherries (which may have gone bad) or waxy benzaldehyde.

Further Online Information:

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

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Cite this page as:

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