Russula fragrantissima
Russules d'Europe Afr. Nord: 350. 1967.
Common Name: none
Synonym: Russula laurocerasi var. fragrantissima Bon
For description see Shaffer, Roberts, & 'California Mushrooms'.
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.
Not recommended, potentially poisonous.
Russula fragrantissima is recognized by its robust size, yellowish brown cap, warted-striate margin, cream-colored gills and spores, an unpleasant acrid taste, and a strong odor of almonds or maraschino cherries that becomes strongly fetid in older mushrooms. Russula laurocerasi is very similar but the pleasant almond extract scent does not become fetid in age, and the spores are slightly smaller with different ornamentation; it is apparently rare in California. Species such as R. cerolens and R. pectinatoides are similar in coloration, but they have an unpleasant, smoky or burned rubber odor.
Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 959 p.
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)
Siegel, N. & Schwarz, C. (2016). Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 601 p.
Shaffer, R.L. (1972). North American Russulas of the Subsection foetentinae. Mycologia 64(5): 1008-1053. (PDF)
Thiers, H.D. (1997). The Agaricales (Gilled Fungi) of California. 9. Russulaceae I. Russula. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 158 p.
