Powdery Brittlegill
Russula parazurea
A powdery bloom and overall grayish appearance distinguish the caps of young Powdery Brittlegills. Some have a blue-grey tinge, while others show hints of purple, but something about this brittlegill usually betrays its identity even at a distance.
Cap
Grey and matted with a (often uniform) blue, blue-green or occasionally purple tinge and, when young and fresh, with a powdery bloom that eventually washes off; older caps of Russula parazurea flatten out and may become slightly depressed, and the margins often become striated and sometimes slightly toothed. Caps are rarely perfectly round and are often irregularly oval, 4 to 9cm across the major diameter. The cap flesh is white, and caps peel between 50 and 70% towards the centre.
Gills
Pale cream, turning light ochre; adnexed; crowded.
Stem
White, often with rusty spots mainly towards the base; cylindrical or slightly tapering towards the base; 6 to 6cm long and 0.7 to 1.5cm diameter. The stem flesh is pale brownish pink.
Habitat
Usually solitary or in very small groups in mixed woodland and under parkland oaks; mycorrhizal most commonly with oaks but also recorded occasionally under birches and spruces.
Season
July to October in Britain and Ireland; through to the New Year in Mediterranean countries.
Similar species
The Charcoal Burner, Russula cyanoxantha is sometimes greenish grey but is not covered in a fine bloom; it produces a white spore print and is notable for its extremely pliant (compared with other Russula fungi) gills.
Distribution
Very common and widespread in and particularly beside paths and on edges of pine and mixed woodlands, the Powdery Brittlegill Russula parazurea occurs throughout Britain and Ireland as well as on mainland Europe, where it is particularly common in the Mediterranean region.
There are disputed accounts of this species being found in North America, but if it does occur there it is localised and very far from common.
Cap
Grey and matted with a (often uniform) blue, blue-green or occasionally purple tinge and, when young and fresh, with a powdery bloom that eventually washes off; older caps of Russula parazurea flatten out and may become slightly depressed, and the margins often become striated and sometimes slightly toothed. Caps are rarely perfectly round and are often irregularly oval, 4 to 9cm across the major diameter. The cap flesh is white, and caps peel between 50 and 70% towards the centre.
Gills
Pale cream, turning light ochre; adnexed; crowded.
Stem
White, often with rusty spots mainly towards the base; cylindrical or slightly tapering towards the base; 6 to 6cm long and 0.7 to 1.5cm diameter. The stem flesh is pale brownish pink.
Habitat
Usually solitary or in very small groups in mixed woodland and under parkland oaks; mycorrhizal most commonly with oaks but also recorded occasionally under birches and spruces.
Season
July to October in Britain and Ireland; through to the New Year in Mediterranean countries.
Similar species
The Charcoal Burner, Russula cyanoxantha is sometimes greenish grey but is not covered in a fine bloom; it produces a white spore print and is notable for its extremely pliant (compared with other Russula fungi) gills.
Distribution
Very common and widespread in and particularly beside paths and on edges of pine and mixed woodlands, the Powdery Brittlegill Russula parazurea occurs throughout Britain and Ireland as well as on mainland Europe, where it is particularly common in the Mediterranean region.
There are disputed accounts of this species being found in North America, but if it does occur there it is localised and very far from common.
