Russula laccata    Huijsman 

common name(s) : Willow Brittlegill 

New classification: Basidiomycota/Agaricomycotina/Agaricomycetes/Incertae sedis/Russulales/Russulaceae  
Former classification: Basidiomycota/Homobasidiomycetes/Agaricomycetideae/Russulales/Russulaceae  

synonyms: Russula atrorubens ss.Lange, Russula norvegica, Russula olivaceoviolascens 

edibility : unknown edibility

potential confusions with  Russula laccata toxicity of Russula laccata genus Russula  

The cap is purple black then vinaceous brown to violet-brown, sometimes a bit olive green, hemispherical then more or less flat; its margin is smooth to more or less striate. The cap surface is smooth, viscid in wet weather.

The stem is white, longitudinally furrowed, washed with yellow in some places, cylindrical and often slightly club-shaped or bulbous à la base, without ring.

The flesh is white, reddish under the cap surface, unchanging; its taste is acrid; the odour is not distinctive to fruity, of apples or pelargonium; its texture is grainy (breaking like a chalk stick).

The gills are white, sinuate, rather crowded (nb of gills per 90° ~ 18 ). The spore print is white to pale cream (B or Ib). This species is mycorrhizal. It grows on the ground, under broad-leaved trees, more often on high ground, with dwarf willow.

The fruiting period takes place from July to September.
Dimensions: width of cap approximately 5 cm (between 1.5 and 9 cm)
  height of stem approximately 3.5 cm (between 1 and 8 cm)
  thickness of stem (at largest section) approximately 4 mm (between 1 and 8 mm)

Chemical tests : Gaïac reaction positive but slowly, blue; Cap surface strongly reacting to sulpho-vanillin.

Distinctive features : Purple to red-brown cap, with shades of olive-green; pungent taste; slimy cap surface in damp weather; white flesh and gills; more frequent in the mountains, in connection with dwarf willows

Russula laccata is rare and confined in the forest of Rambouillet, and is infrequent, more generally speaking .
here should be the distribution map of Russula laccata in the forest of Rambouillet
Above : distribution map of Russula laccata in the forest of Rambouillet



page updated on 14/01/18