Russula decolorans
Description
Russula decolorans is an edible Russula mushroom found in groups in coniferous forests. The cap is convex, with a depressed center when old, often dull orange to coppery orange cap and slippery when young. The cap grows up to 10 cm. The flesh is white and turns grey when old. It has a mild taste. The spores are pale ochre.
Older specimens will be grey inside the stalk when cut. They must be found when very young because the bugs get to them rather quickly.
Common names: Copper Brittlegill, Tegelkremla (Sweden), Mainīgā bērzlape (Latvia).
Mushroom Identification
Ecology
Mycorrhizal with conifers, often in bogs; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America.
Cap
5-15 cm; round to convex when young, becoming broadly convex, flat with a central depression, or shallowly vase-shaped; sticky at first or when wet; smooth; usually coppery orange to dull orange but occasionally somewhat red, purple, or yellow; the margin lined by maturity; the skin not peeling easily.
Gills
Attached or running very slightly down the stem; close; often forked at the base; white to cream at first, becoming yellowish; bruising and discoloring slowly gray.
Stem
4-12 cm long; 1-3 cm thick; white, turning gray with age or on handling; smooth; quite firm when young.
Flesh
White; hard; staining slowly gray to black when sliced.
Odor and Taste
Odor not distinctive; taste mild or slightly acrid in the gills.
Chemical Reactions
KOH on cap surface yellow, erasing the orange pigments.
Spore Print
Pale yellow.
Microscopic Features
Spores 9-14 x 7-10 µ; elliptical; with isolated warts to 1.5 µ high; connectors scattered and few. Pileipellis a cutis; pileocystidia abundant, cylindric to clavate, ochraceous-refractive in KOH and positive in sulphovanillin.
Photo sources:
Photo 1 - Author: Marko Vainu (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo 2 - Author: Anna Baykalova (anna_ru) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo 3 - Author: Anna Baykalova (anna_ru) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
