Russula subfoetens

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by Michael Kuo

Officially, Russula subfoetens is separated from other species in the Foetid Russulas Cluster on the basis of microscopic features. But it seems to me the species is distinguished easily enough just by looking at it, smelling it, and tasting it in the woods. It is the only species in the cluster that is consistently orangish, and it is occasionally even gung-ho orange. Additionally, its gills and stem typically discolor yellowish brown or brownish; its taste is acrid; and its odor has a foul component to it, along with the pleasant, almondy or maraschino cherry-ish odor that is shared by other species in the cluster.

So, while you are welcome to measure spores and determine the fine points of spore ornamentation, hyphal alignment in the pileus subcutis (and so on), I recommend cutting yourself some slack and just using the name Russula subfoetens as a Latin shortcut for "the brown-bruising orange ones that smell kind of bad"--especially since we are likely to be told, once a molecular biologist sets her sights on the foetid russulas, that none of the species are what we thought they were, that the microscopic differences don't correlate to genetic differences, and that what we were calling Russula subfoetens was really 28 species that can't be distinguished on their observable features. (Though I sound like I am griping, I have contributed substantially to a DNA shake-up in the morels, so I should probably shut up and take what I help to dish out.)

Russula subfoetens is not edible, and you are likely to stop caring once you smell it and taste it.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods or conifers; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall; east of the Rocky Mountains.

Cap: 7-12.5 cm; convex with a tucked-under margin when young, becoming broadly convex to flat with a shallow depression; slimy when wet and fresh; orangish or, occasionally, yellowish brown to yellowish; the margin lined; the skin peeling away easily at the margin, sometimes beyond halfway to the center.

Gills: Attached or pulling away from the stem; close or nearly distant; sometimes forked near the stem; yellowish white; often spotting or discoloring yellowish brown to brownish.

Stem: 5-11.5 cm long; 1.5-3.5 cm thick; white, discoloring yellowish to brownish, especially near the base; dry; often becoming cavernous; more or less smooth.

Flesh: Whitish; unchanging.

Taste: Gills strongly acrid; other parts slightly to strongly acrid; odor weakly to moderately or strongly foul, reminiscent of maraschino cherries, almonds, or benzaldehyde.

Spore Print: Pale orange yellow.

Microscopic Features: Spores 6-9 x 5.5-8 µ; broadly elliptical or nearly round; with warts up to 1 µ high, with connecting lines occasionally forming a partial reticulum.

Russula foetentula is a former name.

REFERENCES: W. G. Smith, 1873. (Kauffman, 1918; Shaffer, 1972; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992.) Herb. Kuo 07099503, 06249601, 06200306, 07250303, 07300302.

Further Online Information:

Russula subfoetens at Roger's Mushrooms

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