Russula fragrantissima

Description

Russula fragrantissima is a species of Fungi in the family Russulaceae. It is characterized by a yellow-brown to ocher cap, usually with a tuberculate-striate margin, fairly large size, and an odor that can be fetid, sweet, almond-like, like maraschino cherries, or combinations of these. Habitat solitary to gregarious in duff in mixed hardwood-conifer forests, often associated with oaks and tanbark oak; fruiting from fall through winter, common in north coastal forests.

Mushroom Identification

1. Ecology

   Mycorrhizal with hardwoods or conifers; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America.

2. Cap

   7.5-20 cm; convex or cushion-shaped when young, becoming broadly convex to flat, with or without a shallow depression; slimy when wet and fresh; dull yellow to yellowish or brownish-yellow; the margin lined at maturity; the skin peeling away easily at the margin, sometimes beyond halfway to the center.

3. Gills

   Attached to the stem; close or nearly distant; sometimes forked near the stem; whitish to creamy; often discoloring yellowish brown to brownish, but not bruising.

4. Stem

   7-15 cm long; 1.5-6 cm thick; white, discoloring brownish to yellowish or reddish near the base; dry; often becoming cavernous; more or less smooth.

5. Flesh

   White; unchanging when sliced.

6. Odor and Taste

   Odor strong and fragrant, reminiscent of maraschino cherries, almonds, or benzaldehyde - with a foul component which begins to take over, especially in age; taste mild to moderately acrid.

7. Chemical Reactions

   KOH on cap surface negative to pinkish. Iron salts on stem surface negative to pinkish.

8. Spore Print

   Creamy.

9. Microscopic Features

   Spores 6-9 x 6-8 µ; broadly elliptical or subglobose; with warts and ridges up to 1 µ high, sometimes with connecting lines that may form a partial or nearly complete reticulum. Pleurocystidia abundant; positive in sulphovanillin. Pileipellis a cutis embedded in a gelatinous matrix; pileocystidia clavate to fusiform, ochraceous-refractive in KOH and often positive in sulphovanillin.

Look-Alikes

1. Russula pallescens

   Has unusually firm flexibility of fruit body and chalk-white spores (Pilat).

2. Russula laurocerasi

   Similar but the pleasant almond extract scent does not become fetid in age, and the spores are slightly smaller with different ornamentation; it is rare in California.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Adam Bryant (Adam Bryant) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Ron Pastorino (Ronpast) (CC BY-SA 3.0)