Russula viridirubrolimbata

🏷️ Description

Meet Russula viridirubrolimbata, known in Japan as Futa-iro-bénitake (二色紅茸), which beautifully translates to "two-colored palomet." A close cousin—or perhaps simply a form—of the renowned Russula virescens, this edible mushroom is prized both for its visual appeal and its culinary excellence. It stands out in mixed forests across China and Japan, adorning the forest floor like a mosaic tile, its cap resembling aerial views of patchy fields. 🌾🧩

🧬 Taxonomy & Synonyms

• Species: Russula viridirubrolimbata

• Authority: J.Z. Ying (1983)

• Subsection: Heterophyllae

• Subgenus: Russula

Described from Shiga and Kyoto in Japan and later discovered in Guangxi and Yunnan (China), this mushroom might simply be a more vividly painted form of R. virescens. 🍃

🍽️ Edibility

This mushroom is one of the best edible russulas — even enjoyable raw when thoroughly cleaned. Its mild flavor and firm texture make it a forest delicacy, perfect in salads after blanching. Just be absolutely sure of your identification — Green Death Cap look-alikes can be deadly! ⚠️💀

🍄 Cap

• Size: 2.17 to 3.15 inches (5.5 to 8 cm)

• Color: Red with green patches; sometimes almost entirely green

• Texture: Subvelvety, slightly sticky when humid

• Features: Cracks into mosaic-like patches, revealing pink flesh beneath. The center often remains dark green. Margin striated and tuberculate.

• Visual Metaphor: Imagine the fields of Germany seen from a plane — patchy and polygonal

🍥 Gills

• Type: Almost free, tightly packed

• Color: White, aging to cream or yellowish, eventually brown-spotted

• Special: Often forked or connected by transverse veins at the base

• Spore powder: White to light yellowish

🦵 Stem

• Size: 1.57 to 2.36 x 0.47 to 0.79 inches (4 to 6 x 1.2 to 2 cm)

• Color: White, sometimes slightly brownish

• Shape: Thick, even or pointed at the base, slightly rivulate

• Reaction Tests:

  • Iron (FeSO₄): Pale pink to rust-brown

  • Phenol: Wine-brown

  • Ammonia: Pink to blue-gray

  • Guaiac: Green

🧠 Flesh

• Color: White, may brown slightly with age

• Texture: Compact, firm, and brittle

• Taste: Mild

• Smell: Neutral or faintly nutty, marzipan-like when fresh; cheesy or foot-like when old

🧫 Microscopic Features

• Spores: 7–8 × 5.5–6.5 µm, broadly ovoid, finely punctuated with low warts, partially reticulate

• Spore reaction: Non-amyloid

• Basidia: 23–33 × 6–7.5 µm, club-shaped

• Cystidia: Present, including gloeocystidia with oil content

• Cap surface: No pileocystidia; bottle-shaped hairs with rounded tips

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

• Location: Japan and China (Shiga, Kyoto, Guangxi, Yunnan)

• Environment: Under mixed forests of oak (Quercus) and pine (Pinus), occasionally beech and hornbeam

• Growth pattern: Solitary or scattered

• Fruiting season: Early summer to autumn, even after long droughts

• Ecology: Mycorrhizal (symbiotic)

⚠️ Similar Species (and Confusions)

• Russula virescens (Palomet)

• Russula cyanoxantha (Cracked Russula)

• Russula aeruginea (Grass-green Russula)

• Green Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) – deadly!

📝 Final Thoughts

Russula viridirubrolimbata is a stunning, flavorful mushroom for those confident in mushroom ID. With its patchy red-green cap and firm, tasty flesh, it offers both aesthetic delight and gastronomic reward. Just remember — beauty in the woods must be approached with knowledge and respect.