Russula mariae

[ Basidiomycetes > Russulales > Russulaceae > Russula . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

When fresh, this eastern russula is easily recognized. Its purplish cap is covered with a white "bloom" (see the illustration), and its white stem is often tinged with the cap color. The spore print is typically cream colored to pale yellow (not pure white, theoretically--but see below), and its taste is mild or very slightly acrid.

The bad news is, Russula mariae doesn't always showcase its white bloom as prominently as it should, especially in older specimens. And the cap color is variable (though not nightmarishly variable, as in Russula variata); the typical and most common forms have purple caps, but wine-red, pinkish, and even greenish yellow forms are encountered. Reddish forms may even comprise the "true" Russula mariae, while purplish forms should rightly be called Russula alachuana (see comments below).

Russula mariae is edible, and not bad--but I caution you to eat the species only when you are completely sure of your identification; avoid especially the reddish forms, since they are difficult to distinguish from the vaste hordes of red russulas, some of which are poisonous.

In central Illinois, Russula mariae is often one of the first mushrooms to appear after the seemingly eternal lull in activity following the end of morel season.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods, especially oaks; growing scattered to gregariously; common and frequently encountered; late spring to fall; east of the Rocky Mountains.

Cap: 2-7 cm; convex when young, becoming broadly convex to flat with a shallow depression; dry; when fresh with a whitish bloom or dusting; purple to purplish red, or reddish, pinkish, or even greenish yellow--sometimes mottled with olive shades; the margin straight and lined.

Gills: Attached to the stem; crowded; sometimes forking; white but soon cream colored to pale yellow.

Stem: 2-6 cm long; .5-2 cm thick; white, but typically flushed with the cap color; dry.

Flesh: White, unchanging.

Taste: mild or slightly acrid; odor not distinctive, or "oily" (Phillips).

Spore Print: Cream to pale yellow according to most authors, but white according to others.

Microscopic Features: Spores 6.5-10 x 5.5-8.5 µ; with warts up to 1.2 µ high; partially or completely reticulate; broadly elliptical.

REFERENCES: Peck, 1872. (Kauffman, 1918; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992.)

Russula alachuana is probably a synonym.

Further Online Information:

Russula mariae at Roger's Mushrooms

© MushroomExpert.Com

Cite this page as:

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