Russula cerolens
Mycologia 64(5): 1036. 1972.
Common Name: none
Misapplied names: Russula amoenolens Romagn., Russula sororia Fr.
Cap 4-11 cm broad, globose, becoming convex, finally plano-convex with a depressed center; margin fragile, entire to eroded, with warted striations; surface viscid when moist, smooth, yellow-brown to light brown, the disc darker; flesh thin, white, brittle; odor mild when young, unpleasant at maturity, like burnt rubber/plastic; taste, latently peppery.
Gills adnate, close, brittle, white, in age cream, frequently developing brown stains.
Stipe 3-7 cm tall, 1-2.5 cm thick, brittle, equal to tapering downward, white with brownish stains especially at the base; solid when young, becoming nearly hollow at maturity; veil absent.
Spore 7-8 x 5-6 µm, subglobose to elliptical, warted, the ornamentation amyloid; spore print cream.
Scattered to gregarious under both hardwood and conifers; in our area abundant under Monterey pine; fruiting from early fall to mid-winter.
Inedible; the unpleasant odor and peppery taste are obvious deterrents.
Russula cerolens is recognized by a sticky (when moist) brown cap with a tuberculate-striate margin, gills and stipe which develop brown discolorations, and an unpleasant "burnt"odor at maturity. It fruits abundantly in the early fall often with Chroogomphus vinicolor and Suillus pungens under Monterey pine. Until recently, Russula amoenolens or Russula pectinatoides was the name applied locally to this mushroom.
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Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
Roberts, C. (2007). Russulas of southern Vancouver Island coastal forests. Doctoral dissertation. University of Victoria: Victoria, BC, Canada. 667 p. (PDF)
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Shaffer, R.L. (1972). North American Russulas of the Subsection foetentinae. Mycologia 64(5): 1008-1053. (Protologue) (PDF)
Thiers, H.D. (1997). The Agaricales (Gilled Fungi) of California. 9. Russulaceae I. Russula. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 158 p.
