Species details
Copper brittlegill
Russula decolorans
Traditionally edible
Photo: Marko Vainu · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo source · License
Description
An orange to brick-red Russula of conifer woodland whose stem, gills and flesh grey markedly with age or damage.
Identification features
The cap is 5–13 cm wide, orange-red to brick-red and slightly sticky when damp. Gills are pale to butter yellow and grey when handled. The stem starts white and becomes ash to blackish grey.
Identification checklist
Check the orange-red cap, conifer habitat and especially the progressive greying of stem, gills and cut flesh.
Detailed features
- Cap
- The cap is 5–13 cm wide, orange-red to brick-red and slightly sticky when damp.
- Hymenophore
- Gills are pale to butter yellow and grey when handled.
- Stem
- The stem starts white and becomes ash to blackish grey.
Size
- Cap diameter
- 5–13 cm
Habitat
Grows mainly in damp conifer woodland, especially with spruce and pine on sandy or siliceous soils, in summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
July, August, September, October
Ecology
- Host trees
- Spruce (Picea), Pine (Pinus)
- Substrate
- Sandy soil
- Soil
- Moist
- Notes
- Grows mainly in damp conifer woodland, especially with spruce and pine on sandy or siliceous soils, in summer and autumn.
How to separate similar species
Russula claroflava is bright yellow and mainly associated with birch. Other reddish Russula may also grey, so combine colour, habitat and flesh reactions.