Russula amethystina is a conspicuous mushroom, which appears sporadically from mid-summer until the autumn under spruce and fir trees. In Northern Europe, it is very rare. It is not easy to distinguish from similarly coloured Russula species, and practically identical to Russula turci.

Russula amethystina
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Russulales
Family: Russulaceae
Genus: Russula
Species:
R. amethystina
Binomial name
Russula amethystina
Quélet (1897)
Russula amethystina
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Gills on hymenium
Cap is flat
Hymenium is free
Stipe is bare
Spore print is white
Ecology is mycorrhizal
Edibility is unknown

Description

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The cap ranges from 3 to 12 cm in diameter and varies in colour between violet, lilac, wine-red and wine-red-brown. The cap skin can be pulled off from the edge, right to the centre. The gills are from cream to bright yellow. The spores are yellow, subglobose, with small warts.[1] The spore print is cream to light orange in color. The hollow stipe ranges from 3 to 6 cm in length and 1 to 2 cm in width; it is initially white, later becoming yellowish or brownish.[1]

Similar species include Russula turci, which may smell like iodine near the base of the stalk;[1] otherwise it can only be distinguished by microscopic differences in spore texture. R. lilacea and R. murrillii are also similar.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC 797915861.

Further reading

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