Russula sardonia, commonly known as the primrose brittlegill, is a mushroom of the genus Russula, which are commonly known as brittlegills. The fruiting body, or mushroom, is a reddish-purple, the colour of blackberry juice, and is found in coniferous woodland in summer and autumn. It is inedible, and like many inedible members of the genus, has a hot, peppery taste.
The cap grows to around 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. It is commonly purplish-red, but brownish, and greenish forms have been recorded. Usually it is darker in colour towards the middle, which is convex when young, but becomes depressed in the centre with age. The stem is occasionally white, but more commonly is flushed with pale purple-red, and has a grape-like; easily removed bloom. It is 3–8 cm tall and 1–1.5 cm in diameter. The adnexed to slightly decurrent gills are pale primrose yellow, and they darken with age. They are narrow, and exude water droplets when young.(see photograph left) They also turn slowly pink when ammonia is dropped onto them. This identifies the mushroom to species level, and is a ‘must do’ test for the rarer colour forms. The spore print is cream.[1] The flesh is firm, and has a very hot taste, making the mushroom inedible.
Similar species
Russula torulosaBres. grows in the same habitat, and is said to smell strongly of 'raw apple'.[2] It has no ammonia reaction.
Russula sardonia appears in late summer and autumn; growing with Pinus (pine) in coniferous woodland, on sandy soils. It is a common mushroom, and is found across Britain, and Northern Europe.[1] It does not occur in North America.
Edibility
This mushroom is inedible, and has a 'pepper hot' taste.[1] Many similar-tasting Russulas are poisonous when eaten raw. The symptoms are mainly gastrointestinal in nature: diarrhoea, vomiting and colicky abdominal cramps. The active agent has not been identified but thought to be sesquiterpenes, which have been isolated from this species[3] and the related genus Lactarius.[4]
^ abRegis Courtecuisse and Bernard Duhem (1995). Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe. British version. Harper Collins. ISBN978-0-00-220025-7.
^Andina D. et al. (1980). Sesquiterpenes from Russula sardonia. Phytochemistry19: 93–97
^Benjamin, Denis R. (1995). Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas — a handbook for naturalists, mycologists and physicians. New York: WH Freeman and Company. p. 369. ISBN978-0-7167-2600-5.
